Deal Reached in Massive US Foreclosure Case

 　　U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that a $25 billion deal with banks is a "major step" toward reviving the troubled housing market, and turns the page on an era of "recklessness."

　　Banks have agreed to cut the amount of money some homeowners owe, allow others to refinance their loans at lower interest rates, and compensate¹ still other people who suffered wrongful foreclosures.

　　It took top federal and state legal officials 16 months of haggling² with the five biggest banks to get the agreement.  It resolves widespread civil complaints about the way lenders handled thousands of foreclosures growing out of the financial crisis.

　　The scandal erupted when it was learned that many companies that process foreclosures failed to verify documents, had employees sign many documents they had not read, or used fake signatures to speed foreclosures.

　　A foreclosed home tends to reduce the appeal and the price of neighboring homes, which is one of the reasons that this key part of the U.S. economy has been so slow to recover from the financial crisis.

　　The banks involved are: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial.

1 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

2 haggling   

v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I left him in the market haggling over the price of a shirt. 我扔下他自己在市场上就一件衬衫讨价还价。
• Some were haggling loudly with traders as they hawked their wares. 有些人正在大声同兜售货物的商贩讲价钱。 来自辞典例句