Morgan Stanley is in talks with the U.S. to resolve an investigation into the bank’s creation and sale of mortgage-backed bonds, the latest in a string of Wall Street cases tied to the 2008 financial crisis, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. An agreement could be reached within the first few months of 2015, though the amount of a possible settlement isn’t clear. A settlement would add Morgan Stanley to a growing list of banks to face federal sanctions over mortgage practices in the run-up to the collapse in housing prices. In August, Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $16.7 billion for misrepresenting the quality of bonds backed by home loans. Citigroup Inc. reached a $7 billion deal in July, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. struck a $13 billion accord last year.
