Category Archives: servicer defaults

Pauley Stirs the Pot: Federal Judge Still Making an Impact as BofA Settlement Approaches Critical Crossroads in State Court

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

On April 24, Judge Barbara Kapnick will hold a hearing in New York Supreme Court on whether Bank of American’s $8.5 billion settlement proposal should be evaluated under the restrictive Article 77 vehicle, or whether investors challenging the deal can … Continue reading →

Posted in appeals, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, class actions, conflicts of interest, Countrywide, discovery, Event of Default, global settlement, investors, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge William Pauley, Judicial Opinions, jurisdiction, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, MBS, motions to dismiss, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, remand, removability, repurchase, RMBS, SEC, securitization, servicer defaults, settlements, standing, Trustees, Walnut Place | 3 Comments

Guest Post: The Migratory Patterns of Yield-Hungry Investors

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Editor’s Note: in this guest post, former bond insurance insider Steve Ruterman discusses important considerations for investing in private label MBS beyond credit risk analysis, including how investors can benefit from understanding the differences in servicer behavior and business models.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Attorneys General, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, firing servicers, foreclosure rate, guest posts, hedge funds, incentives, investors, junior liens, loan modifications, loan seasoning, MBIA, MBS, moral hazard, mortgage market, pre-investment due diligence, private label MBS, projecting risk adjusted returns, putbacks, regulation, Regulators, servicer defaults, servicer reports, servicers, subprime | Leave a comment

Under AG Foreclosure Settlement, Servicers Get Credit for Things They’re Supposed to Do

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Last week, District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer approved the Attorney General Foreclosure Settlement (“AGFS”) without a hearing, and without any objection from investors.  According to the Judge, the Consent Judgment between the nation’s five largest servicers and the Attorneys General … Continue reading →

Posted in Adam Levitin, Ally Bank, Attorneys General, auditing, bailout, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, Citigroup, conflicts of interest, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, damages, foreclosure crisis, foreclosure rate, global settlement, homeowner relief, improper documentation, incentives, investors, JPMorgan, junior liens, liabilities, MBS, mortgage market, Neil Barofsky, pooling agreements, press, private label MBS, RMBS, robo-signers, servicer defaults, servicers, settlements, Wells Fargo | 2 Comments

My Take On Newly Filed AG Foreclosure Settlement: As Bad As We Thought It Was

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

“They are who we THOUGHT they were — and we let ’em off the hook!” This famous postgame rant from former Arizona Cardinals coach Denny Green after his team’s epic meltdown on Monday Night Football against the Bears could just … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Ally Bank, Attorneys General, bailout, bankruptcy, banks, Bloomberg, BofA, broader credit crisis, chain of title, Citigroup, Complaints, contract rights, costs of the crisis, damages, foreclosure crisis, global settlement, Government bailout, homeowner relief, Hope For Homeowners, impact of the crisis, improper documentation, incentives, interest rates, investigations, investors, JPMorgan, Judge Jed Rakoff, judicial momentum, junior liens, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, loan modifications, loss causation, LTV, MBS, misrespresentation, mortgage fraud, negative equity, oversight, Regulators, Residential Capital, RMBS, robo-signers, SEC, securities, securitization, servicer defaults, servicers, settlements, stipulated judgments, waiver of rights to sue | 7 Comments

Why Mortgage Loan Servicers Behave as They Do

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Editor’s Note: It seems that we can’t go three months without hearing about yet another species of misconduct by mortgage servicers that shifts losses onto the lienholders they are supposed to protect.  We’ve read reports about force-placed insurance, inflated appraisal … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting fraud, allocation of loss, appraisals, auditing, banks, broader credit crisis, causes of the crisis, conflicts of interest, contract rights, costs of the crisis, firing servicers, foreclosure crisis, improper documentation, incentives, investigations, junior liens, lending guidelines, loan modifications, MBIA, MBS, monolines, mortgage fraud, private label MBS, RMBS, robo-signers, securitization, servicer defaults, servicers, settlements, subprime, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, Way Too Big to Fail | 4 Comments

New York AG Schneiderman Comes out Swinging at BofA, BoNY

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

This is big.  Though we’ve seen leading indicators over the last few weeks that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman might get involved in the proposed Bank of America settlement over Countrywide bonds, few expected a response that might dynamite … Continue reading →

Posted in Attorneys General, bad faith, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, chain of title, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, discovery, fiduciary duties, global settlement, improper documentation, investigations, investors, litigation, loan files, LPS, MBS, mortgage fraud, private label MBS, RMBS, robo-signers, servicer defaults, servicers, settlements, standing, successor liability, Trustees, Uncategorized, underwriting practices, Wall St. | 11 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

PIMCO, BlackRock, New York Fed To Demand That BofA Repuchase Faulty Non-Agency Mortgages

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

Private label residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) investors, including BlackRock, PIMCO, and the New York Fed, are expected to join MetLife, Inc. in its efforts to force BofA to repurchase defective subprime and Alt-A mortgage loans originated by Countrywide and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bank of New York, BlackRock, BofA, demand letter, Event of Default, Investor Syndicate, Kathy Patrick, PIMCO, procedural hurdles, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, servicer defaults, Trustees | 7 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