FBI finance probe

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has begun a probe into four major US financial institutions caught up in the current financial crisis.



Investigators are reportedly examining possible fraud by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the failed bank Lehman Brothers and insurance company the American International Group.



According to US media reports, top managers at those firms are also being investigated.



In the past year, as the US housing market slumped, the FBI began a broad inquiry across the financial sector.



It was prompted by concerns over the way high-risk, sub-prime mortgages were being sold.



The FBI has reportedly been looking at lenders who sold home loans to buyers on low or unpredictable incomes and also the investment banks that packaged those loans and carried out the sale.



Officials say investigations into the four companies are at an early stage.