US regulators abandon Goldman subprime probe

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has decided not to file any charges against Goldman Sachs over its sale of subprime mortgage-backed products, the investment bank has said. Goldman Sachs was notified Monday by SEC staff "that the investigation into this offering has been completed... and that the staff does not intend to recommend any enforcement action," it said Thursday in a regulatory filing. The US securities watchdog had notified Goldman in February that it was probing whether the bank had made the proper disclosures to investors about the $1.3 billion mortgage portfolio dating back to 2006. In its filing, Goldman listed several other complaints it is facing on various subjects, including products linked to subprime mortgages before the global financial crisis. "The firm expects to be the subject of additional putative shareholder derivative actions, purported class actions, rescission and 'put-back' claims and other litigation, additional investor and shareholder demands, and additional regulatory and other investigations and actions with respect to mortgage-related offerings," Goldman said. The financial crisis swelled after a bubble in US housing prices popped in 2007 and mortgage-backed securities lost much of their value, sending shockwaves through the global banking system.