News that America’s Securities and Exchange Commission had charged Goldman Sachs with allegedly defrauding investors by misstating and omitting key facts about a financial product tied to subprime mortgages is an unwelcome reminder that the impact of the credit crunch is far from over.

The SEC claims Goldman structured and marketed a synthetic collateralised debt obligation that hinged on the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities. The CDO was structured and marketed by Goldman Sachs in early 2007 when the US housing market and related securities were beginning to show signs of distress, the SEC complaint said.