RBS to settle with Mass AG for $52 million

A Royal Bank of Scotland subsidiary will pay $52 million to settle claims related to its role in the state’s “subprime mortgage meltdown,’’ Attorney General Martha Coakley said yesterday, an agreement that will benefit more than 700 borrowers in Massachusetts.

RBS Financial Products Inc. agreed to the payment after the state determined that the company financed, bought, and bundled residential mortgage loans into securities that were “presumptively unfair,’’ Coakley’s office said.

Such subprime loans proved costly for consumers and were often approved for people who were not qualified borrowers, the state said.

The RBS deal marks Coakley’s third major settlement with investment firms over how they packaged and sold home loans. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group also agreed to settlements that totaled $162 million over the past two years.

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