More To Follow...

The sub-prime mortgage lending crisis has seen 112 companies report write-downs of more than $170bn (£87bn) but this is only the tip of the iceberg, research consultancy Advisen has warned.

It calculated that these businesses have as much as $1,200bn in collaterised debt obligations (CDOs) and other securities backed by sub-prime mortgages on their balance sheets, meaning more investments are likely to be struck off their balance sheets as the credit crisis shows few signs of abating.

Mason Power, managing director at Advisen Europe, said: "There are more write-downs to come from these companies and there are likely to be a few more new companies added to the list."

Analysis of the write-downs so far comes as the number of lawsuits against businesses relating to the credit crisis has climbed to 113. In the last few months, there have been a string of writs filed against directors after their companies fell in value after investing in CDOs, or advised investors to buy the bonds. Businesses embroiled in suits include investment banks, mortgage lenders, fund managers, ratings agencies and also property developers, which helped arrange mortgages.

Mr Power predicted more legal activity and said the number of sub-prime related lawsuits showed "no sign of abating". He added that 40pc of the companies reporting write-downs were non-US and it would take "more time" to file suits against these.