Category Archives: underwriting practices

$8.5 Billion BofA Settlement of Countrywide Trusts Raises Questions for Investors on Sidelines

Posted on June 29, 2011 by igradman

As more details emerge about Bank of America’s proposed $8.5 billion settlement with Kathy Patrick’s bondholder group and Bank of New York Mellon (“BoNY”) as Trustee, the deal looks even worse for Countrywide RMBS investors.  Now, it is apparent that … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Bank of New York, banks, BlackRock, BofA, bondholder actions, chain of title, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Reserve, fiduciary duties, Freddie Mac, global settlement, Goldman Sachs, improper documentation, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loss causation, loss estimates, MBS, MetLife, PIMCO, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, securities, securitization, sellers and sponsors, settlements, standing, subprime, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, TIAA-CREF, Trustees, underwriting practices, valuation, waiver of rights to sue, William Frey | 17 Comments

FDIC Sues LPS and CoreLogic Over Appraisal Fraud; Shows Investors Leaving Money on the Table

Posted on May 30, 2011 by igradman

In another sign that the Federal Government is turning its focus towards prosecuting the securitization players who may have contributed to the Mortgage Crisis, the FDIC filed separate lawsuits against LSI Appraisal (available here) and CoreLogic (available here) earlier this … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, appraisals, causes of the crisis, Complaints, conflicts of interest, CoreLogic, FDIC, Federal Home Loan Banks, fiduciary duties, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, liabilities, loan files, loss causation, LPS, private label MBS, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, RMBS, statistical sampling, subprime, successor liability, underwriting practices, valuation, WaMu | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Barron’s Article Pulls No Punches in Assessing Bank Putback Liability

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Isaac Gradman

If you’re looking for a great primer on the latest developments in the legal saga over who will ultimately bear the losses for the detritus that passed as subprime and Alt-A mortgage loans from 2004 to 2007, check out this … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Barron's, Clayton Holdings, Lehman Brothers, loan files, private label MBS, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, stated income, too big to fail, underwriting practices | 2 Comments

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

Obama Proposes Sweeping Reforms For Financial Regulation

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Isaac Gradman

Just last weekend, in discussing the current financial crisis with friends, I expressed concerns that in the panic to unfreeze the credit markets and stabilize the economy, our government would continue to simply throw money at the problem, while ignoring … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Center for Responsible Lending, Federal Reserve, Government bailout, incentives, legislation, lenders, oversight, recession, regulation, TARP, Timothy Geithner, underwriting practices | Leave a comment