FDIC to grease mortgage market with $1.8 bln deal

he U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is planning to sell $1.8 billion of guaranteed asset-backed debt, according to IFR, in what may be a step toward restoring confidence in securities closely tied to the financial meltdown.

The debt will be backed by residential mortgage assets of failed banks seized by the FDIC, market sources said. The two-part deal is expected to sell this week via Barclays Capital, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters service.