Category Archives: irresponsible lending

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

Originator Business Models Led Inevitably to Housing Crash

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

by Steve Ruterman, guest blogger It has been four years since the onset of the epic economic and capital markets fiasco known as the housing crash, and this crisis is far from over.  Because the housing and mortgage finance industries … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, banks, broader credit crisis, causes of the crisis, Complaints, Countrywide, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, guest posts, incentives, interest rates, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, MBIA, MBS, mortgage market, private label MBS, research, RMBS, securitization, The Subprime Shakeout, Uncategorized, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a 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

Creditor Rights: Use Them All!

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

by Steve Ruterman, guest blogger Much of the focus of mortgage crisis-related litigation and news coverage has been directed at put-back rights as a potential source of loss mitigation for mortgage creditors, including investors and bond insurers.  However, far less … Continue reading →

Posted in auditing, banks, bondholder actions, chain of title, contract rights, due diligence firms, Event of Default, firing servicers, freeriders, guest posts, improper documentation, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, lenders, lending guidelines, loan files, MBIA, MBS, negligence and recklessness, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, RMBS, robo-signers, securitization, servicer defaults, servicers, standing, The Subprime Shakeout, Trustees, underwriting practices | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

$8.5 Billion BofA Settlement of Countrywide Trusts Raises Questions for Investors on Sidelines

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

As more details emerge about Bank of America’s proposed $8.5 billion settlement with Kathy Patrick’s bondholder group and Bank of New York Mellon (“BoNY”) as Trustee, the deal looks even worse for Countrywide RMBS investors.  Now, it is apparent that … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Bank of New York, banks, BlackRock, BofA, bondholder actions, chain of title, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Reserve, fiduciary duties, Freddie Mac, global settlement, Goldman Sachs, improper documentation, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loss causation, loss estimates, MBS, MetLife, PIMCO, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, securities, securitization, sellers and sponsors, settlements, standing, subprime, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, TIAA-CREF, Trustees, underwriting practices, valuation, waiver of rights to sue, William Frey | 17 Comments

FDIC Sues LPS and CoreLogic Over Appraisal Fraud; Shows Investors Leaving Money on the Table

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

In another sign that the Federal Government is turning its focus towards prosecuting the securitization players who may have contributed to the Mortgage Crisis, the FDIC filed separate lawsuits against LSI Appraisal (available here) and CoreLogic (available here) earlier this … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, appraisals, causes of the crisis, Complaints, conflicts of interest, CoreLogic, FDIC, Federal Home Loan Banks, fiduciary duties, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, liabilities, loan files, loss causation, LPS, private label MBS, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, RMBS, statistical sampling, subprime, successor liability, underwriting practices, valuation, WaMu | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Top Five Reasons that MBS Lawsuits Are Just Beginning

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

After a few quiet months in the world of mortgage crisis litigation, we have seen a flurry of activity over the last six weeks that should put to rest speculation that mortgage derivative lawsuits are winding down.  To recap these … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, Allstate, Ambac, bailout, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, broader credit crisis, CDOs, CDSs, Complaints, contract rights, Countrywide, Deutsche Bank, discovery, emc, Federal Reserve, Goldman Sachs, incentives, investigations, investors, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, loss estimates, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, mortgage fraud, mortgage insurers, negligence and recklessness, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, quinn emanuel, rep and warranty, repurchase, SEC, securities, securities fraud, securitization, settlements, sole remedy, statistical sampling, subprime, Uncategorized, waiver of rights to sue, Wall St. | 23 Comments

Recording Of Compass Point Mortgage Repurchase Call Available

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

We had a great turnout for the Compass Point call today on mortgage repurchase liability and I thought the questions and remarks of the various participants were interesting and informative.  For those of you who missed the call, you can … Continue reading →

Posted in Compass Point, irresponsible lending, liabilities, litigation, public perceptions, rep and warranty, repurchase, reserve reporting | 3 Comments

Investor Syndicate Fires Warning Shot Across Trustee Bows

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

As first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, and as further detailed by Bloomberg today, the Investor Syndicate has finally begun to emerge from the shadows and give securitization trustees a hint at what’s coming.  According to Talcott Franklin, the Dallas … Continue reading →

Posted in fiduciary duties, firing servicers, Investor Syndicate, irresponsible lending, private label MBS, repurchase, reserve reporting, securitization, servicer defaults, Servicer Safe Harbor, Trustees | 13 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