Amid some very strong rumors flying around that I won’t print here, this just came down the pike from Reuters:

The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told lawmakers on Tuesday that the agency has opened 12 enforcement investigations into matters surrounding collateralized debt obligations. “There is now a commonality of interest between banking regulators and securities regulators when it comes to safety and soundness” issues, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in response to a question from a member of the House Financial Services Committee during a hearing. A collateralized debt obligation or CDO is a security backed by a pool of loans or other fixed income securities. Cox did not identify the names of any companies involved in the investigations or elaborate on the nature of the probes.

To say rumors are circulating both regarding what’s being investigated as well as who’s being investigated would be a very large understatement.