Nightmare on North St

Amid countless other subprime-related lawsuits, a showdown is currently taking place between HSH Nordbank and UBS over a stricken collateralised debt obligation, named North Street. The case raises questions about practices employed at banks and across the wider structured credit market

Courtroom dramas over the capsized US subprime mortgage market, as well as the market turbulence incurred in its wake, are fast becoming commonplace. But one recent claim, filed in a New York court by Hamburg-based HSH Nordbank against UBS on February 25, is far from typical. The complaint - which remains unsubstantiated - is a murky epic of alleged structured credit mis-selling and mismanagement by one of the world's biggest banks, featuring subprime mortgages and a now-defunct hedge fund