Deal OK'd for Fannie to get $537M on Lehman claim

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal bankruptcy judge has approved Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s settlement with Fannie Mae, allowing the mortgage finance giant to recover about $537 million for its claim against the estate of the failed Wall Street bank over soured mortgage securities. Judge James Peck made the ruling Wednesday. The settlement values at about $2.15 billion Fannie's claim over home loans and mortgage securities it bought from Lehman before the financial crisis. Under rules of Lehman's bankruptcy proceeding, Washington-based Fannie will receive about 25 percent of that. Fannie and sibling Freddie Mac were rescued by the government in a $187 billion bailout in 2008 after they were hit by massive losses on high-risk mortgages. Lehman's bankruptcy in September 2008 was the biggest in U.S. history and helped set off the financial crisis. Published: Fri, Jan 31, 2014