Author Archives: Isaac Gradman

Amendment to Restrict Servicer Safe Harbor Rejected By Senate

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate rejected a measure that would have limited the “Servicer Safe Harbor” provision of the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act,” which aims to protect servicers from lawsuits over their modifications of residential mortgage loans. The … Continue reading →

Posted in costs of the crisis, Helping Families Save Homes, homeowner relief, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, legislation, Servicer Safe Harbor, William Frey | Leave a comment

Bondholders Battle Back Over Servicer Safe Harbor

Back in early March, without much fanfare, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1106, entitled the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009”, which contained a “Servicer Safe Harbor” provision that would allow servicers to disregard bondholders’ contract … Continue reading →

Posted in BofA, Countrywide, Greenwich Financial Services, Helping Families Save Homes, irresponsible lending, legislation, loan modifications, lobbying, Servicer Safe Harbor, William Frey | 2 Comments

Center For Responsible Lending Publishes Report Linking Failures of WaMu and IndyMac to Poor OTS Oversight

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a non-profit, non-partisan research and policy organization, has released a report that begins to shed some light on the role that lax regulation played in the mortgage meltdown of the last year and a … Continue reading →

Posted in causes of the crisis, Center for Responsible Lending, Greenwich Financial Services, incentives, IndyMac, irresponsible lending, OTS, oversight, Russian MBS, sellers and sponsors, WaMu, William Frey | 1 Comment

Geithner Plan’s Use of Wall Street Firms to Value “Toxic” Securities No Panacea

Several commentators have recently praised Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s plan to use Wall Street firms to help value “toxic” assets, such as mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), because it draws on these firms’ supposed expertise in valuing … Continue reading →

Posted in Countrywide, due diligence firms, hedge funds, legislation, loan modifications, re-underwriting, Richard Posner, Servicer Safe Harbor, Timothy Geithner, toxic assets, valuation, Wall St. | Leave a comment

New Century Debtors’ Complaints Against KPMG Now Available

The two complaints filed April 1 against KPMG, one against the U.S. arm of the Big Four accounting firm in federal court in Los Angeles and the other in federal court in New York against its parent, KPMG International, are … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, bankruptcy, causes of the crisis, Complaints, damages, KPMG, lawsuits, loss causation, negligence and recklessness, New Century, subprime | Leave a comment

KPMG Sued for $1 Billion Over New Century Meltdown

Two separate lawsuits were filed yesterday against Netherlands-based Big Four accounting giant, KPMG International, and its U.S. subsidiary, KPMG LLP, alleging that KPMG conducted “reckless and grossly negligent audits” that contributed to the collapse of top subprime lender New Century … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, auditing, bankruptcy, causes of the crisis, incentives, KPMG, lawsuits, loss causation, negligence and recklessness, New Century | Leave a comment

Countrywide Complaint Against A.I.G. Subsidiary United Guaranty Now Available

Earlier this week, I posted the complaint filed by A.I.G. subsidiary United Guaranty Mortgage Indemnity Co. (UG) in federal court in Los Angeles. The Subprime Shakeout has now obtained the complaint that started this battle of mortgage industry titans, filed … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, bad faith, causes of the crisis, Complaints, Countrywide, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, loss causation, mortgage insurers, removability, sophistication, subprime, underwriting practices | Leave a comment

A.I.G. (United Guaranty) v. Countrywide Complaint Now Available

The complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles by United Guaranty Mortgage Indemnity Co., the mortgage insurer subsidiary of A.I.G., against Countrywide Financial Corp., Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. and the Bank of New York Trust Company is posted below. … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, BofA, causes of the crisis, Complaints, Countrywide, lawsuits, litigation, loan modifications, loss causation, misrespresentation, mortgage fraud, United Guaranty | Leave a comment

A.I.G. and Countrywide Go Head-to-Head Over Mortgage Insurance Coverage

The battle of the titans has begun. As reported by Reuters on Friday, both A.I.G. and Countrywide have now sued one another over who will bear the losses on a $1 billion pool of subprime mortgage loans. Countrywide fired the … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, causes of the crisis, Countrywide, lawsuits, lenders, litigation, loss causation, misrespresentation, mortgage insurers, underwriting practices, United Guaranty | 1 Comment

Senate to Consider Bill That Threatens to Obliterate Mortgage Bondholders’ Contract Rights

On March 5, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1106, also known as the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009,” which threatens to override the contract rights of bondholders who invested in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). A … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, bankruptcy, bankruptcy cramdown, Countrywide, Greenwich Financial Services, Helping Families Save Homes, legislation, litigation, loan modifications, Servicer Safe Harbor | 1 Comment