Category Archives: incentives

The Top 5 RMBS Cases to Watch this Summer: No. 1 – MBIA v. Countrywide, BofA

Posted on June 15, 2012 by igradman

After a week-long build-up (I’m sure the suspense is killing you), we’ve reached the No. 1 case in our countdown of RMBS Cases to Watch this Summer.  You may wish to catch up with parts I, II, III, and IV, … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, allocation of loss, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, damages, discovery, fraud, global settlement, impact of the crisis, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judicial Opinions, jury trials, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loss causation, MBIA, MBS, media coverage, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage fraud, private label MBS, putbacks, quinn emanuel, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, securitization, settlements, statutes of limitations, subprime, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, timeline, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, vicarious liability | 4 Comments

Guest Post: The Migratory Patterns of Yield-Hungry Investors

Posted on April 12, 2012 by igradman

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 igradman

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

New York Judge Strikes Blow to Investor Putback Claims

Posted on April 4, 2012 by igradman

Update: it appears that Walnut Place has already filed an appeal of the dismissal of its lawsuit against BofA and Countrywide – IMG. Investors in Countrywide mortgage backed securities (MBS) were dealt a setback last Wednesday in their efforts to … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Frankel, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, derivative lawsuits, Event of Default, global settlement, Greenwich Financial Services, hedge funds, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, lending guidelines, litigation, MBS, motions to dismiss, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, research, RMBS, securitization, settlements, standing, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, Walnut Place | 5 Comments

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

Posted on March 12, 2012 by igradman

“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