AIG is considering pursuing Goldman Sachs over losses incurred on $6 billion of insurance deals on mortgage-backed securities similar to the one that has led to fraud charges against the US bank, according to the Financial Times.

AIG’s move over the deals that caused it a loss of about $2 billion shows how last Friday’s decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to file civil fraud charges against Goldman could spark actions from investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities.

As reported elsewhere by WealthBriefing today, lawyers have predicted that the SEC’s action will cause a flood of lawsuits, possibly including those from wealth management clients.

The FT said that people close to the situation said that AIG was reviewing deals to insure $6 billion-worth of Goldman’s collateralised debt obligations in the run-up to the crisis. They added that AIG had yet to decide whether to take action. AIG and Goldman declined to comment.

In the fraud case against Goldman Sachs, the SEC has said that in early 2007, as the US housing market came under pressure, Goldman Sachs created and sold a CDO linked to sub-prime mortgages without disclosing that hedge fund Paulson & Co – which is now renowned for making big profits by shorting such assets - helped pick the underlying securities and bet against the vehicle, known as Abacus 2007-AC1.

 Meanwhile, the Financial Services Authority, the UK regulator, announced it was launching an investigation into Goldman Sachs over the scandal.

"Following preliminary investigations the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has decided to commence a formal enforcement investigation into Goldman Sachs International in relation to recent SEC allegations. ‬‪The FSA will be liaising closely with the SEC in this review.‬," the FSA said in a statement.