Category Archives: FHFA

Motion to Exclude Frey Testimony from Article 77 Raises Eyebrows, Questions About Role of BlackRock and PIMCO

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Isaac Gradman

The backyard brawl between the AIG-led objecting investors on one hand and Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) and the investors supporting BofA’s $8.5 billion settlement on the other is about to get even messier.  As I last wrote on … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, bench trials, BlackRock, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, demand letter, Event of Default, Fannie Mae, FHFA, fiduciary duties, global settlement, incentives, Investor Syndicate, investors, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge William Pauley, Judicial Opinions, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, MBS, negligence and recklessness, PIMCO, private label MBS, putbacks, remand, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, servicers, Trustees, William Frey | Leave a comment

BlackRock Attorney to Face Stiffer Challenges to Next Set of MBS Settlements

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

(Updated version, including new 6th paragraph on subsequent announcement of larger probe into Morgan Stanley bonds) Having received copious kudos for engineering an $8.5 billion investor settlement with Bank of America over soured Countrywide residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS), “pitbull” … Continue reading →

Posted in Allstate, appeals, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BlackRock, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, emc, Event of Default, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, global settlement, hedge funds, Investor Syndicate, investors, JPMorgan, jurisdiction, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, MBIA, MBS, Morgan Stanley, Philippe Selendy, press, private label MBS, putbacks, quinn emanuel, Regulators, remand, removability, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities, securitization, settlements, standing, toxic assets, Wall St., Wells Fargo | 7 Comments

Release of “Way Too Big to Fail” Simply Opening Salvo in Efforts to Reform Mortgage Finance

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

It’s tempting when you have an enormous task before you to focus all of your attention on completing that task while blocking out any thoughts of what comes next.  For me, that enormous task has been the publication of a … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, causes of the crisis, contract rights, Countrywide, discovery, FHFA, global settlement, investors, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, lobbying, loss causation, MBIA, monoline actions, mortgage market, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, regulation, Regulators, remand, repurchase, RMBS, securitization, settlements, statistical sampling, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, Uncategorized, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey | 1 Comment

The Government Giveth and It Taketh Away: The Significance of the Game Changing FHFA Lawsuits

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

It is no stretch to say that Friday, September 2 was the most significant day for mortgage crisis litigation since the onset of the crisis in 2007.  That Friday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as conservator for Fannie Mae … Continue reading →

Posted in acquisitions, Ambac, bailout, banks, Bear Stearns, BofA, bondholder actions, Complaints, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, Deutsche Bank, emc, Fannie Mae, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, Freddie Mac, freeriders, Goldman Sachs, Government bailout, investors, irresponsible lending, JPMorgan, jury trials, lawsuits, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loan files, loss causation, loss estimates, LTV, MBS, media coverage, Merrill Lynch, misrespresentation, monoline actions, mortgage fraud, motions to dismiss, negligence and recklessness, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, quinn emanuel, ratings agencies, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities, securities laws, securitization, shareholder lawsuits, sole remedy, sophistication, stability, standing, statistical sampling, statutes of limitations, subpoenas, successor liability, too big to fail, Trustees, underwriting practices, Wall St., WaMu | 6 Comments

RMBS Legal Roundup: The Top Five Developments You Might Have Missed While Obsessing Over the BoNY/BofA Settlement

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

With interesting developments occurring almost daily in the proposed Bofa/Countrywide settlement with Bank of New York, it has been hard to focus on anything else.  Indeed, since the last time I posted on the settlement (discussing New York AG Eric … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, CDOs, class actions, Complaints, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Credit Unions, damages, Deutsche Bank, Fannie Mae, FHFA, Freddie Mac, global settlement, Goldman Sachs, investigations, investors, JPMorgan, lawsuits, litigation, loss causation, MBS, misrespresentation, mortgage market, motions to dismiss, NCUA, Paulson and Co., private label MBS, probes, procedural hurdles, research, reserve reporting, responsibility, RMBS, SEC, securities fraud, securitization, settlements, sophistication, standing, subpoenas, subprime, too big to fail, Treasury, Trustees, Uncategorized, Wall St. | 2 Comments

Six Challenges to Countrywide RMBS Settlement Already; Rundown Shows Pact Will Be No Easy Sell for BofA

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

The BofA settlement blowback has already begun.  If you’ve been following my recent posts (here and here) about the proposed Bank of America (“BofA”) settlement involving the Bank of New York (“BoNY”) and the Kathy Patrick-led investor group (the “Investor … Continue reading →

Posted in Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, global settlement, Grais and Ellsworth, improper documentation, incentives, investigations, investors, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, MBS, oversight, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities fraud, servicers, settlements, standing, statutes of limitations, subpoenas, toxic assets, Trustees | 9 Comments

Strange Bedfellows: Barney Frank’s Falling Out With Wall Street Leaves Him Aligned With Former Nemesis

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

I have seen some strange things during my time covering the mortgage crisis, but this one may beat them all. On August 20, 2010, representative Barney Frank (D-MA) sent a letter to Barack Obama, urging the President to appoint a … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Barney Frank (D-MA), BofA, campaign finance, FHFA, Greenwich Financial Services, Investor Syndicate, Paul Kanjorski, rep and warranty, repurchase, servicers, William Frey | 2 Comments

Inside Mortgage Finance Sees Private Label Rep and Warranty Claims Increasing

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

The following story appeared in the September 3, 2010 issue of Inside Nonconforming Markets, a biweekly newsletter focusing on news and data on non-agency mortgages.  This story reflects the growing awareness in the marketplace of the undisclosed mortgage repurchase liabilities … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, judicial momentum, liabilities, loan files, private label MBS, rep and warranty, repurchase | 1 Comment

Compass Point To Hold Call Addressing Mortgage Repurchase Risks

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

Compass Point Research & Trading, a registered broker/dealer and one of the leading financial research firms investigating Alt-A and subprime mortgage backed securities (MBS), will be hosting a conference call to discuss mortgage repurchase risks.  The call will be held … Continue reading →

Posted in BofA, Compass Point, Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Reserve, FHFA, JPMorgan, liabilities, loan files, loss estimates, private label MBS, repurchase, research, reserve reporting | 4 Comments

Loan File Issue Brought to Forefront By FHFA Subpoena

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

The battle being waged by bondholders over access to the loan files underlying their investments was brought into the national spotlight earlier this week, when the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the regulator in charge of overseeing Fannie Mae and … Continue reading →

Posted in Alt-A, Countrywide, Fannie Mae, FHFA, Freddie Mac, Investor Syndicate, irresponsible lending, loan files, MBIA, private label MBS, repurchase, reserve reporting, subpoenas, subprime, Wall St. | 1 Comment