CNN passes along a “no, really this time, seriously” promise that the RMBS working group, tasked with looking into securitization fraud, will soon make a major announcement.

A joint federal and state probe into mortgage-backed securities fraud is close to “significant action,” with a possible announcement in coming weeks or months, according to a source familiar with the probe [...]

Members of the Residential Mortgage Backed Securities working group, which includes attorneys from the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney’s General’s Office, declined to say who or what they’ve been investigating, citing the sensitive nature of ongoing investigations.

But officials at all those agencies say progress is underway.
“Work is being done right now by state and federal working group members across the country on active investigations,” said Justice spokeswoman Adora Andy. “Although these complex cases can be time consuming and challenging, the resources, enthusiasm and organization brought by the members of the RMBS Working group have already resulted in substantial strides toward that goal.”

Mm-hm.

At the same time, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman delivered seven subpeonas to banks suspected of participating in the Libor interest rate-rigging scandal. We know that the financial fraud task force, the large umbrella group, is a repository for any ongoing financial fraud-related investigation. Am I cynical enough to think that, when the Libor actions come down, that will be conflated with the securitization fraud mandate of the RMBS working group, and that any investigations into actions during the housing bubble will be summarily dropped and forgotten? Why yes, I told you that a month ago .

You just have to look in front of you to understand the difference between the fraud that regulators are self-sanctioned to go after and the fraud they

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