Number of the Day

$8.5 billion: The amount of a settlement 10 banks will have to pay over alleged foreclosure abuses against as many as 4.4 million borrowers, in a deal brokered by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The firms involved in Monday's agreement are Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, PNC, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

The deal covers borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure in 2009 and 2010, and is distinct from the $26 billion foreclosure settlement announced last year. That settlement was negotiated by state attorneys general, not federal banking regulators, and involved only five major banks: Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Ally Financial, formerly GMAC.

I guess I don't need to say that $8.5 billion is chump change for these megabanks, especially collectively. That'll learn 'em.