New York, Ramadan 17, 1435, July 14, 2014, SPA -- Citigroup will pay 7 billion dollars to settle an investigation into its sale of residential mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis that started in 2008, the company announced Monday. The settlement resolves civil claims by the US Department of Justice, several state attorneys general and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) relating to residential mortgage-backed securities issued, structured and underwritten between 2003 and 2008, dpa quoted Citigroup as saying. Citigroup will pay a 4-billion-dollar civil penalty to the Department of Justice and 500 million dollars to state attorneys general and the FDIC. The rest will be paid in various forms of consumer relief and will be distributed by the end of 2018, according to Citigroup. The settlement "resolves all pending civil investigations related to our legacy (residential mortgage-backed securities) and (collateralized debt obligations) underwriting, structuring and issuance activities," said Citigroup chief executive Michael Corbat. "We believe that this settlement is in the best interests of our shareholders, and allows us to move forward and to focus on the future, not the past." In connection with the settlement Citigroup, the country's third-largest bank by assets, will take a charge of approximately 3.8 billion dollars pre-tax in the second quarter of 2014, the bank said. Other banks, including JPMorgan Chase, the country's largest bank, have agreed in recent months to pay hefty fines and damages to resolve government claims over mortgage-backed securities. JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay 13 billion dollars in fines and damages. Bank of America also is under investigation and also could face billions in penalties, according to news reports. -- SPA 17:21 LOCAL TIME 14:21 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w