“At least nine banks face investigations by the US Department of Justice into their sales of mortgage-backed securities as part of an effort by the task force that reached the $13bn pact with JPMorgan Chase, people familiar with the matter say.

“The investigations, which span US attorney’s offices from California to Massachusetts, include the largest banks that underwrote and sold residential mortgage-backed securities. They include Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Wells Fargo.

“Most of the probes are looking for civil violations for allegedly misleading buyers of RMBS, not criminal sanctions. It is not clear how many, if any, will result in lawsuits or settlements.

“The threat of potential action could spell more trouble for banks as they try to put the 2008 financial crisis and mounting legal bills behind them.”

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