Collapsed US regional bank IndyMac is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is questioning a dozen mortgage lenders on suspicion of possible fraud.

The FBI is understood to be looking into mortgages made to risky borrowers at the bank, which on Friday became the second largest bank to collapse in US history.

The federal inquiry is said to focus on the bank rather than any staff, and is thought to be in its early stages.

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), IndyMac’s regulator, has publicly said that comments made in a letter written by Democratic Senator Charles Schumer were in part to blame.

Daily Telegraph