Charges laid in US subprime crisis
Updated
For the first time in the United States, criminal charges are being laid over the collapse of the big subprime mortgage loans market that's had negative repercussions for the entire economy.
Our Washington Correspondent, Kim Landers, reports two former managers from the Bear Sterns investment bank are the first executives to face criminal charges related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.
Matthew Tannin and Ralph Cioffi were arrested at their homes after a yearlong federal investigation.
The former executives are charged with securities and wires fraud and are accused of misleading investors about the risky subprime mortgage market.
Lawyers for both men say their clients are innocent.
Subprime borrowers are those likely to be turned away from traditional lenders because of low credit ratings or other factors, but taken on by other lenders.
The fallout from defaults on US subprime mortgages has rattled the American housing market and the global economy.
