Author Archives: igradman

About igradman

I am an attorney, consultant, book editor, and one of the nation's leading experts on mortgage backed securities litigation. I am the author of The Subprime Shakeout mortgage litigation blog, a partner at Northern California law firm Perry Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz, LLP, and the editor of the critically-acclaimed book, "Way Too Big to Fail: How Government and Private Industry Can Build a Fail-Safe Mortgage System," by Bill Frey. Follow me on Twitter @isaacgradman

The Inside Story on PIMCO’s Defection from ASF

As first reported by Bloomberg yesterday, bond king Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) has quit the American Securitization Forum (ASF) after the trade group refused to issue a statement reflecting investors’ views of the announced settlement between the five largest … Continue reading

Posted in allocation of loss, ASF, Attorneys General, banks, Bloomberg, conflicts of interest, contract rights, global settlement, incentives, investors, junior liens, loan modifications, lobbying, mark-to-market accounting, MBS, PIMCO, pooling agreements, private label MBS, securitization, servicers, The Subprime Shakeout, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey | 1 Comment

Is Foreclosure Settlement Déjà Vu All Over Again?

Today, the Attorneys General of 49 states (with Oklahoma being the lone holdout) announced a record $26 billion settlement with the nation’s five largest servicers over false and fraudulent foreclosure practices like robosigning.  That big number looks great on paper, … Continue reading

Posted in allocation of loss, Attorneys General, bailout, banks, BofA, consitutionality, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, education, foreclosure crisis, global settlement, Government bailout, Greenwich Financial Services, Helping Families Save Homes, homeowner relief, improper documentation, incentives, investigations, investors, irresponsible lending, junior liens, lenders, liabilities, loan modifications, lobbying, MBS, media coverage, moral hazard, mortgage market, predatory lending, press, private label MBS, probes, public perceptions, Regulators, RMBS, robo-signers, securitization, Servicer Safe Harbor, servicers, settlements, sophistication, subprime, Takings Clause, The Subprime Shakeout, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey, workouts | 13 Comments

Federal Judge in Goldman Sachs MBS Suit Grants Class Action Status to All Bondholders in Trust

This just in: the Hon. Harold Baer, Jr. of the Southern District of New York has certified a class of bondholders in Goldman Sachs MBS Trust 2006-S2 led by the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement Fund.  Included in the class are … Continue reading

Posted in bondholder actions, class actions, Goldman Sachs, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Harold Baer, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, lending guidelines, litigation, MBS, private label MBS, Residential Capital, RMBS, securities, securities laws, securitization, sellers and sponsors, sophistication, standing, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, Wall St. | Leave a comment

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

(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

Way Too Big to Fail Goes to Washington (Book Tour Day 3)

After a hiatus over the holidays, I return with Part IV of this five-part series on my experiences during a recent book tour to promote the release of Way Too Big to Fail: How Government and Private Industry Can Build … Continue reading

Posted in Adam Levitin, bailout, balance sheets, banks, BofA, book tour, chain of title, Citigroup, conflicts of interest, Congress, foreclosure crisis, Government bailout, improper documentation, legislation, lobbying, MBS, mortgage market, negligence and recklessness, pooling agreements, regulation, Regulators, RMBS, robo-signers, Senate staffers, Servicer Safe Harbor, Timothy Geithner, too big to fail, Treasury, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey | Leave a comment