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The British bank HSBC will pay $550m (£338m) to US regulators to settle claims that it mis-sold mortgage-related bonds between 2005 - 2007 to US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It is the 16th bank to reach an agreement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over the issue.

Royal Bank of Scotland and Nomura have yet to settle their cases.

HSBC said it was "pleased to resolve the matter".

The lawsuit had accused HSBC of making $6.2bn of mortgage-backed securities look like they met regulatory guidelines and standards, when they did not. HSBC has previously denied the allegations.

The FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has now recouped $17.9bn from settlements with banks.

HSBC's fine is significantly less than that of US banking giant Bank of America, which reached a $9.5bn settlement with the FHFA last March.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost more than $30bn in the financial crisis, partly because of their investments in the subprime mortgages, and were bailed out by the US government.