More than 120 institutional and retail investors have signed up for a class action against National Australia Bank.

Law firm Maurice Blackburn will soon file the class action against NAB for failing to disclose its exposure to $1.2 billion in collateralised debt obligations, said the firm’s principal, Andrew Watson.

The class action which was first announced in May and proceedings would soon be filed in the Federal Court.

Maurice Blackburn will allege that shareholders collectively lost $450 million from NAB in 2008, when the bank did not reveal its exposure to the CDOs that formed part of a $5.7bn structured credit portfolio.

The law firm says NAB’s exposure to the CDOs and its delay in writing down their value helped cause a sharp fall in the bank’s share price during 2008.

(Source: TheAustralian.com.au)