Ten of the nation's major banks, such as Bank of America and Citibank, have agreed to pay $8.5 billion after an investigation into the abuse of homeowners during foreclosures on mortgages during the recent housing crisis.

According to the Fed, $3.3 billion of the settlement will be "direct payments to eligible borrowers" and $5.2 billion will go toward "other assistance, such as loan modifications and forgiveness of deficiency judgments."

In related news, Bank of America agreed this morning to pay Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association) billions of dollars and to buy back billions more in shoddy mortgage-backed securities sold by Countrywide Financial, which BoA acquired.

(READ the latest from NPR News)