US authorities are to sue 17 major banks for losses on mortgage-backed investments that cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said it was taking action against banks, including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC. The agency says they misrepresented the quality of the mortgages they sold during the housing bubble. The values plunged as the US was engulfed in the financial crisis. The FHFA oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two firms lost more than 30 billion dollars, partly because of their investments in the subprime mortgages and were bailed out by the US government. Other banks facing action include Royal Bank of Scotland, Nomura, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and Societe Generale.