Category Archives: underwriting practices

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

Countrywide Complaint Against A.I.G. Subsidiary United Guaranty Now Available

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Isaac Gradman

Earlier this week, I posted the complaint filed by A.I.G. subsidiary United Guaranty Mortgage Indemnity Co. (UG) in federal court in Los Angeles. The Subprime Shakeout has now obtained the complaint that started this battle of mortgage industry titans, filed … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, bad faith, causes of the crisis, Complaints, Countrywide, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, loss causation, mortgage insurers, removability, sophistication, subprime, underwriting practices | Leave a comment

A.I.G. and Countrywide Go Head-to-Head Over Mortgage Insurance Coverage

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Isaac Gradman

The battle of the titans has begun. As reported by Reuters on Friday, both A.I.G. and Countrywide have now sued one another over who will bear the losses on a $1 billion pool of subprime mortgage loans. Countrywide fired the … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, causes of the crisis, Countrywide, lawsuits, lenders, litigation, loss causation, misrespresentation, mortgage insurers, underwriting practices, United Guaranty | 1 Comment