Reuters scoop on U.S. securities regulator expanding mortgage probe

Reuters exclusively reported on Dec 17 that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had expanded its investigation into mortgage foreclosure practices, and sent out a fresh round of subpoenas to big banks including Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. Reuters clients were first to learn that the SEC was zeroing in on the beginning stages of the mortgage securitization process and was asking about the role of master servicers — companies that specialize in overseeing the selection and maintenance of large pools of home loans that go into every mortgage-backed bond. The news came months after the SEC began looking into banks` foreclosure practices following allegations that mortgage servicers were using shoddy paperwork to evict delinquent borrowers from their homes. CNBC immediately picked up the Reuters headlines. Bloomberg later matched part of the story and credited Reuters, but was unable to provide the same level of detail on what the SEC was seeking.