The five largest U.S. banks have agreed to a reported $26 billion settlement to resolve claims over abusive practices that forced scores of people from their homes and helped bring about the nation’s financial meltdown. After months of talks with state and federal officials, the banks have reportedly agreed to help some one million homeowners reduce their mortgage debt or refinance their homes at lower rates. Another 750,000 people who have lost homes to foreclosure will receive $2,000. The deal would mark the largest civil action settlement for the housing industry, but would still only help a fraction of the struggling homeowners affected by the bank’s practices. New York and California have signed off on the deal after initially holding it up in protest of lenient treatment of the banks. The settlement will reportedly preserve a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman accusing banks of fraud and deceit in the use of an electronic mortgage registry. But the deal gives banks immunity from civil lawsuits for “robo-signing,” a practice whereby homeowners were rapidly evicted without proper vetting.