Barclays Capital and some of its affiliates have agreed to pay a hefty $2 billion fine for improperly selling securities backed by home mortgages, the Justice Department said Thursday. The feds will now drop a December 2016 civil action that accused the bank of fraudulently selling residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007. Barclays was accused of misrepresenting some details on $31 billion worth of loans involved in 36 RMBS deals over that time. More than half of those mortgages later defaulted, leaving investors financially ruined, the Justice Department said. “The substantial penalty ... (full story)