Citigroup announced today that it has agreed to pay $7 billion to the Department of Justice, several state attorneys general, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in a landmark settlement to resolve a federal investigation into the sale of subprime mortgages. The misrepresentation of those securities was a contributing factor to the financial crisis.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...