The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a federal appeals court to put an emergency hold on its lawsuit against Citigroup Inc. (C) over mortgage-backed securities, and to expedite its appeal of a judge’s rejection of a $285 million settlement in the case. Citigroup consented to the requests, the SEC said in a filing today with the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. The agency is challenging U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff’s refusal last month to approve an accord resolving claims that New York- based Citigroup misled investors in a $1 billion financial product linked to risky mortgages. It said halting the case was necessary because Rakoff told Citigroup to respond to the SEC’s complaint next week. Read more on Bloomberg here.
