Category Archives: irresponsible lending

Investor Syndicate At Hundreds of Billions And Growing

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

Heard on this Street this week: the super-secret Syndicate of MBS Investors discussed previously is gaining momentum.  A confidential source has informed me that some of the largest institutional investors in mortgage-backed securities have now joined the group, bringing the amount … Continue reading →

Posted in Countrywide, firing servicers, Investor Syndicate, investors, irresponsible lending, litigation, loan files, MBS, repurchase, servicers | 2 Comments

BlackRock Puts Pressure On Banks To Absorb Losses

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

BlackRock, a major asset management firm and one of the largest investors in U.S. mortgage bonds, announced last week that banks would have to absorb the losses on their holdings in second-lien mortgages before it would resume purchasing “private-label” mortgage … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, BlackRock, conflicts of interest, investors, irresponsible lending, junior liens, loan modifications, MBS, securities, toxic assets | 1 Comment

Home Loan Bank Lawsuit May Signal Floodgates Opening For Investor Actions

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

As reported this week in the Wall Street Journal (article available here, with subscription), the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle has filed separate lawsuits against 11 different Wall Street firms, alleging that it was misled about the quality of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bear Stearns, Federal Home Loan Banks, investors, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, litigation, mark-to-market accounting, RMBS, securities, securitization, servicers, underwriting practices, Wall St. | 2 Comments

New Evidence Shows Loan-to-Value Ratio Contributed Most Heavily to Mortgage Meltdown

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Isaac Gradman

An article published in the Wall St. Journal this week by Stan Liebowitz posits a purportedly new take on the causes of the mortgage meltdown. Liebowitz’s analysis of recent data on millions of individual loans published by McDash Analytics, a … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, foreclosure rate, irresponsible lending, lending guidelines, loan modifications, loss causation, LTV, negative equity, stated income, subprime, toxic assets, Wall St. | Leave a comment

Obama Signs Helping Families Save Their Homes Act Into Law, Complete With Servicer Safe Harbor

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Isaac Gradman

On May 21, President Barack Obama signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act into law (P.L. 111-22), including the controversial “Servicer Safe Harbor” provision that relieves servicers of their contractual liabilities for modifying loans without investor approval. The House … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Helping Families Save Homes, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, legislation, loan modifications, Servicer Safe Harbor, toxic assets | 1 Comment