Category Archives: servicers

Why Mortgage Loan Servicers Behave as They Do

Editor’s Note: It seems that we can’t go three months without hearing about yet another species of misconduct by mortgage servicers that shifts losses onto the lienholders they are supposed to protect.  We’ve read reports about force-placed insurance, inflated appraisal … Continue reading

Posted in accounting fraud, allocation of loss, appraisals, auditing, banks, broader credit crisis, causes of the crisis, conflicts of interest, contract rights, costs of the crisis, firing servicers, foreclosure crisis, improper documentation, incentives, investigations, junior liens, lending guidelines, loan modifications, MBIA, MBS, monolines, mortgage fraud, private label MBS, RMBS, robo-signers, securitization, servicer defaults, servicers, settlements, subprime, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, Way Too Big to Fail | 4 Comments

The Inside Story on PIMCO’s Defection from ASF

As first reported by Bloomberg yesterday, bond king Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) has quit the American Securitization Forum (ASF) after the trade group refused to issue a statement reflecting investors’ views of the announced settlement between the five largest … Continue reading

Posted in allocation of loss, ASF, Attorneys General, banks, Bloomberg, conflicts of interest, contract rights, global settlement, incentives, investors, junior liens, loan modifications, lobbying, mark-to-market accounting, MBS, PIMCO, pooling agreements, private label MBS, securitization, servicers, The Subprime Shakeout, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey | 1 Comment

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

New York AG Schneiderman Comes out Swinging at BofA, BoNY

This is big.  Though we’ve seen leading indicators over the last few weeks that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman might get involved in the proposed Bank of America settlement over Countrywide bonds, few expected a response that might dynamite … Continue reading

Posted in Attorneys General, bad faith, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, chain of title, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, discovery, fiduciary duties, global settlement, improper documentation, investigations, investors, litigation, loan files, LPS, MBS, mortgage fraud, private label MBS, RMBS, robo-signers, servicer defaults, servicers, settlements, standing, successor liability, Trustees, Uncategorized, underwriting practices, Wall St. | 11 Comments

Six Challenges to Countrywide RMBS Settlement Already; Rundown Shows Pact Will Be No Easy Sell for BofA

The BofA settlement blowback has already begun.  If you’ve been following my recent posts (here and here) about the proposed Bank of America (“BofA”) settlement involving the Bank of New York (“BoNY”) and the Kathy Patrick-led investor group (the “Investor … Continue reading

Posted in Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, global settlement, Grais and Ellsworth, improper documentation, incentives, investigations, investors, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, MBS, oversight, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities fraud, servicers, settlements, standing, statutes of limitations, subpoenas, toxic assets, Trustees | 9 Comments