Wells Fargo to pay $2.09 billion fine over loan quality to Justice Department

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo will pay $2.09 billion in penalty for alleged misrepresentation of loan quality, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

The fine is for alleged origination and sale of residential mortgage loans that the lender knew contained misstated income information and did not meet the quality that Wells Fargo represented, the DoJ said in its statement.

"Today's agreement holds Wells Fargo responsible for originating and selling tens of thousands of loans that were packaged into securities and subsequently defaulted," said Alex G. Tse, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.

Wells Fargo could not be immediately reached for comment.

RELATED: The most hated banks of 2017

(Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)