HSBC to pay 249 mln USDs in foreclosure abuse settlement

 　　WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Banking¹ giant HSBC has agreed to pay 249 million U.S. dollars to borrowers in a settlement with U.S. federal regulators for its foreclosure abuse practices, U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Friday.

　　The sums paid by HSBC include 96 million dollars in direct payments to eligible² borrowers and 153 million dollars in other mortgage assistance including loan modifications³, according to the agreement inked between HSBC, the Fed and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

　　Eligible borrowers are expected to receive compensation ranging from hundreds of dollars to as much as 125,000 dollars, the U.S. central bank said in a statement.

　　The settlement agreement is similar to the ones inked earlier this month between 12 large U.S. banks and mortgage servicing companies and the federal watchdogs.

　　With the addition of HSBC, nearly 4.2 million U.S. borrowers will receive a total of 3.6 billion dollars in cash compensation while an additional 5.7 billion dollars will be provided by the servicers for mortgage assistance, said the central bank.

　　In 2011, major financial companies in the United States were cited for deficiencies in document handling and foreclosure abuses by federal watchdogs. Staff members of some banks rubber-stamped on piles of foreclosure documents instead of checking the accuracy of each one, a practice dubbed⁴ as "robo-signers".

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

3 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》