Author Archives: Isaac Gradman

In Letter to Bank Regulators, Senators Reverse Course

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Isaac Gradman

Loan servicers’ star may be quickly fading in Washington. In a stunning reversal of course, Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Barney Frank (D-MA), BofA, Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Helping Families Save Homes, Hope For Homeowners, investors, loan modifications, Servicer Safe Harbor, William Frey | Leave a comment

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

Latest Gatekeeper Litigation: City of San Buenaventura Sues Deloitte Over WAMU Subprime Collapse

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Isaac Gradman

Following on the heels of the lawsuits against KPMG by New Century’s debtors for contributing to the collapse of the mortgage giant, accounting firm Deloitte & Touche (D&T) and the officers and directors of Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) have been … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, auditing, Deloitte and Touche, Ernst and Young, gatekeeper litigation, incentives, KPMG, Lehman Brothers, loss causation, ratings agencies, subprime, WaMu | Leave a comment

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

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