Author Archives: Isaac Gradman

Grais & Ellsworth Launches ABS Investor Blog

On Monday, New York law firm Grais & Ellsworth jumped into the legal blogosphere with a new law blog on the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis entitled “The ABS Investor Advocate.” According to named partner David Grais, the blog’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Grais and Ellsworth, Greenwich Financial Services, Helping Families Save Homes, investors, legislation, litigation, loan modifications, Servicer Safe Harbor, subprime, William Frey | Leave a comment

Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (S. 896) Passes Senate, Awaits Approval From House

The Senate passed a version of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (S. 896) on Wednesday by a vote of 91-5. The bill will now go back before the House of Representatives, which can adopt it, amend it, send … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, bankruptcy cramdown, Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Helping Families Save Homes, incentives, investors, legislation, loan modifications, Servicer Safe Harbor | 1 Comment

Amendment to Restrict Servicer Safe Harbor Rejected By Senate

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate rejected a measure that would have limited the “Servicer Safe Harbor” provision of the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act,” which aims to protect servicers from lawsuits over their modifications of residential mortgage loans. The … Continue reading →

Posted in costs of the crisis, Helping Families Save Homes, homeowner relief, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, legislation, Servicer Safe Harbor, William Frey | Leave a comment

Bondholders Battle Back Over Servicer Safe Harbor

Back in early March, without much fanfare, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1106, entitled the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009”, which contained a “Servicer Safe Harbor” provision that would allow servicers to disregard bondholders’ contract … Continue reading →

Posted in BofA, Countrywide, Greenwich Financial Services, Helping Families Save Homes, irresponsible lending, legislation, loan modifications, lobbying, Servicer Safe Harbor, William Frey | 2 Comments

Center For Responsible Lending Publishes Report Linking Failures of WaMu and IndyMac to Poor OTS Oversight

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a non-profit, non-partisan research and policy organization, has released a report that begins to shed some light on the role that lax regulation played in the mortgage meltdown of the last year and a … Continue reading →

Posted in causes of the crisis, Center for Responsible Lending, Greenwich Financial Services, incentives, IndyMac, irresponsible lending, OTS, oversight, Russian MBS, sellers and sponsors, WaMu, William Frey | 1 Comment