Category Archives: irresponsible lending

Investor End Games: All Is Not Well in the Garden

“As long as the roots are not severed, all is well.  And all will be well in the garden.” – Chance the Gardener, Being There (1979) With Judge Barbara Kapnick announcing earlier this month that the approval hearing in Bank … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, ASF, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BlackRock, Bloomberg, BofA, bondholder actions, causes of the crisis, conflicts of interest, consitutionality, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, damages, Deutsche Bank, discovery, eminent domain, fiduciary duties, foreclosure crisis, fraud, global settlement, Grais and Ellsworth, impact of the crisis, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge Eileen Bransten, junior liens, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, LIBOR manipulation, liquidity, litigation, litigation costs, lobbying, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage fraud, mortgage insurers, mortgage market, negative equity, Neil Barofsky, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, recession, rep and warranty, repurchase, Residential Capital, responsibility, restructuring, RMBS, securities, securitization, sellers and sponsors, settlements, standing, statistical sampling, statutes of limitations, successor liability, summary judgment, The Subprime Shakeout, too big to fail, toxic assets, Treasury, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, US Bank, vicarious liability, waiver of rights to sue, Wall St., Walnut Place, Way Too Big to Fail, Wells Fargo, William Frey | 2 Comments

Monoline End Games: String of Legal Wins Will Snowball Until Settlement

Last week, I wrote about a few developments that should boost RMBS litigation recoveries, especially for bond insurers – Judge Crotty’s summary judgment decision in Syncora v. EMC (JPMorgan) and Syncora’s subsequent settlement with BofA, resolving all of the parties’ … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, banks, BofA, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, emc, fraud, global settlement, irresponsible lending, JPMorgan, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judge Paul Crotty, Judicial Opinions, junior liens, jury trials, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loss causation, loss estimates, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage insurers, O'Melveny & Myers, private label MBS, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securitization, settlements, successor liability, summary judgment | 6 Comments

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

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

New York Judge Strikes Blow to Investor Putback Claims

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

Is Foreclosure Settlement Déjà Vu All Over Again?

Today, the Attorneys General of 49 states (with Oklahoma being the lone holdout) announced a record $26 billion settlement with the nation’s five largest servicers over false and fraudulent foreclosure practices like robosigning.  That big number looks great on paper, … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Attorneys General, bailout, banks, BofA, consitutionality, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, education, foreclosure crisis, global settlement, Government bailout, Greenwich Financial Services, Helping Families Save Homes, homeowner relief, improper documentation, incentives, investigations, investors, irresponsible lending, junior liens, lenders, liabilities, loan modifications, lobbying, MBS, media coverage, moral hazard, mortgage market, predatory lending, press, private label MBS, probes, public perceptions, Regulators, RMBS, robo-signers, securitization, Servicer Safe Harbor, servicers, settlements, sophistication, subprime, Takings Clause, The Subprime Shakeout, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey, workouts | 13 Comments