Countrywide Sued by New Mexico Pension and Investment Funds

The Chicago Times reports that Countrywide has been sued on behalf of New Mexico’s state Investment Council, the Educational Retirement Board and the Public Employees Retirement Association for both conning homeowners into mortgages they could not afford and duping investors about the value and safety of securities backed by these shaky mortgages. The allegations as to Countrywide’s lending practices should sound familiar – they are similar to those alleged in recent suits by California, Florida, Illinois, Connecticut and the City of San Diego (see prior posting here). But the allegations regarding Countrywide’s issuance of securities are relatively new. As additional allegations surface about what was going down at the country’s former number one lender, it will be interesting to see whether Bank of America steps forward to take some responsibility for the debts of its new acquisition or if, as is more likely, Countrywide sags under the mounting pressure of its liabilities and goes the way of New Century and IndyMac. Stay tuned…