2/21/2012 Bank Bailout Redux

Foreclosure measure advances in Senate

Consumer activists and homeowners
offer sharp criticism of the bill.

Original Source Article by Zac Anderson
Ocala.com, Tallahassee bureau

Legislation to speed foreclosures in Florida is gaining momentum despite strident criticism from consumer advocates who argue that it would "trample homeowners’ rights."

The bill passed its first Senate committee Monday after already clearing two House committees, with three weeks remaining in the session.

2/16/2012 84% of Foreclosures Flawed

Audit Uncovers Extensive Flaws in Foreclosures

The findings of San Francisco county officials suggest how pervasive irregularities may be across the nation.

PHOTO CREDIT: Annie Tritt for The New York Times

Phil Ting, the San Francisco assessor-recorder, found
widespread violations or irregularities in files of
properties subject to foreclosure sales.

Original Source Article By GRETCHEN MORGENSON, NEW YORK TIMES

The New York times is reporting this audit shows foreclosure abuse has been plentiful since the mortgage boom turned to bust in 2008. The "detailed and comprehensive" nature of the San Francisco findings "suggest how pervasive foreclosure irregularities may be across the nation."

2/14/2012 California Outsmarts Banks

For California, Attorney General Insisted on Better Terms in Foreclosure Deal

PHOTO CREDIT: Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times
Kamala Harris at the Democratic convention
in San Diego on Saturday. She is thought to
be a potential candidate for governor.

Kamala D. Harris took a hard line in negotiations with banks, but faced increasing pressure from the White House to reach a deal.

Original Source Article By SHAILA DEWAN, NEW YORK TIMES

LOS ANGELES — Kamala D. Harris, the attorney general of California, could have derailed a nationwide settlement with big banks over home foreclosure abuses when she walked out of talks last September.

Last week, though, she emerged with a prize and a little vindication. Ms. Harris, already a rising Democratic star and a potential candidate for governor, announced that California would receive by far the largest share of the benefits in the deal, which is expected to climb beyond the $26 billion in the initial announcement.

2/9/2012 Settlement Near

Bank foreclosure fraud settlement said near

Multiple media outlets are reporting that a settlement
is close at hand.

Original Source Article By Brady Dennis and Sari Horwitz, WashingtonPost.com

State and federal officials could announce as soon as Thursday a landmark settlement with five of the nation’s banks over their flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices, people close to the situation said.

Long-running negotiations over the estimated $25 billion settlement received a major boost Wednesday when California Attorney General Kamala Harris agreed to back the effort after withdrawing her support last fall, according to three people with knowledge of the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.

2/5/2012 Tornado Warning

A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded

PHOTO CREDIT:
Gary Bogdon for The New York Times

YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game.

Original Source Article by GRETCHEN MORGENSON, NEW YORK TIMES

His name is Nye Lavalle, and he first came to attention not in finance but in sports and advertising. He turned heads in marketing circles by correctly predicting that Nascar and figure skating would draw huge followings in the 1990s.

But after losing a family home to foreclosure, under what he thought were fishy circumstances, Mr. Lavalle, founder of a consulting firm called the Sports Marketing Group, began a new life as a mortgage sleuth. In 2003, when home prices were flying high, he compiled a dossier of improprieties on one of the giants of the business, Fannie Mae.

1/30/2012 Mortgage Settlement?

Who benefits from possible $25B mortgage settlement?

California Attorney General Kamala Harris:
Proposed $25 billion settlement is inadequate.

PHOTO CREDIT:
Jeff Chiu, AP

After nearly a year of negotiations, federal and state officials and major mortgage servicers are moving closer to a multibillion-dollar settlement over alleged foreclosure and mortgage loan-servicing abuses.

Original Source Article by Julie Schmit, USA TODAY / Money

A deal could be finalized by early February, some officials say, although that's not a certainty. And its terms could change.

1/27/2012 A Federal Investigation

A Mortgage Investigation

An Editorial by the NEW YORK TIMES

In the State of the Union address, President Obama promised a fresh investigation into mortgage abuses that led to the financial meltdown.

The goal, he said, is to “hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.”

Could this be it, finally? An investigation that results in clarity, big fines and maybe even jail time?

1/24/2012 Banks Cut Losses!

In Mortgage Crisis, Some Banks Agree To Cut Losses

PHOTO CREDIT:Aarti Shahani/NPR
Sharon Jordan (lower left) and her family (clockwise from top left:
Rydell, Nikera and Anisha) are working with Bank of America and
a Boston nonprofit to repurchase their duplex at its current market
price — about half of the original value.

Original Source Article by Aarti Shahani, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR)

There's an unfamiliar trend emerging in America's troubled housing market: Big banks are volunteering to lose money — hundreds of millions of dollars for themselves and investors — in order to save homes at risk of foreclosure. And they're doing it in record numbers.

In 30 percent of private loan modifications last year, banks were doing a principal write-down — that is, hacking away at the amount owed, as far down as the current market value. They're doing it so borrowers can actually afford payments. Two years ago, that 30 percent was just 2 percent.

1/20/2012 Conflicts of Interest?

Top Justice officials connected to mortgage banks

PHOTO CREDIT: Reuters/Jason Reed

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, were partners for years at a Washington law firm that represented a Who's Who of big banks and other companies at the center of alleged foreclosure fraud, a Reuters inquiry shows.

Original Source Article By Scot J. Paltrow, Reuters

The firm, Covington & Burling, is one of Washington's biggest white shoe law firms. Law professors and other federal ethics experts said that federal conflict of interest rules required Holder and Breuer to recuse themselves from any Justice Department decisions relating to law firm clients they personally had done work for.

1/11/2012 A Nation in Denial

The Foreclosure Crisis: A Nation in Denial

As we start the New Year, the executive branch and Congress continue to pretend the gravest risk to our economy and social stability does not exist: the ongoing foreclosure crisis.

Original Source Article by Bruce Judson, HuffingtonPost.com

The financial crisis began with the housing crisis and it will not end until we resolve housing. Government policymakers who seemingly ignore this basic fact are leading the nation to another potential catastrophe.

Last week, a number of important events occurred in Washington, including important recess appointments by President Obama. However, the most noteworthy event did not make front page news: the Federal Reserve's (apparently) unsolicited memo to the committees of Congress that oversee financial services warning of the dangers the current housing market poses for the economy.

1/9/2012 McConnell Speaks

McConnell Claims New Agency Would "Bring Down the Banking System" by Protecting Consumers

Senate Republicans filibustered the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Original Source Article By Pat Garofalo, thinkprogress.org

The GOP’s plan to justify their filibuster seems to be portraying the CFPB director as a “czar” — a favorite way for Republicans to deride federal officials they don’t like — and falsely claiming that the position has some obscene amount of power.

For instance, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) last week said that the CFPB director would be akin to an “almighty God” with no oversight. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) continued this narrative yesterday during an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace:

1/4/2012 Bring Back Boring Banks!

Bring Back Boring Banks

GRAPHIC CREDIT:
Stephen Savage, New York Times

CENTRAL bankers barely averted a financial panic before Christmas by replacing hundreds of billions of dollars of deposits fleeing European banks.

Original Source Article By AMAR BHIDÉ, NEW YORK TIMES

But confidence in the global banking system remains dangerously low. To prevent the next panic, it’s not enough to rely on emergency actions by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. Instead, governments should fully guarantee all bank deposits — and impose much tighter restrictions on risk-taking by banks. Banks should be forced to shed activities like derivatives trading that regulators cannot easily examine.

1/4/2012 Foreclosures to Surge

Bank Foreclosures to Surge
in 2012: RealtyTrac

According to RealtyTrac, a new wave of foreclosures could be coming in 2012, if the recent spike in "default filings" is any indication.

Original Source Article By Shanthi Bharatwaj, TheStreet.com

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The pace of foreclosures slowed down significantly in 2011, but that trend was likely short-lived.

12/29/2011 Home Prices Hit New Lows

Home Prices In Major Cities
Hit New Lows, Yanked Down By Foreclosures

GRAPHIC CREDIT:
Calculated Risk

Original Source Article by MARK BERGEN, Forbes.com

FORBES.com's Mark Bergen is reporting that the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for October has been released, and the news isn't good. Nineteen of the twenty cities surveyed experienced further losses, on top of the losses of the previous five years. Overall, the numbers fell 3.4% from the previous October, more than the 3.2% which economists had forecasted.

Calculated Risk crunched the numbers to reveal how they’ve dipped below the lowest point since the housing bubble imploded:

12/21/2011 Nevada Pursues LPS

Nevada AG Files Lawsuit Against Foreclosure Mill Firm

Nevada is going after Lender Processing Services (LPS), not Florida, where they are headquartered!

Original Source Article By EVAN BEDARD, LoanSafe.org

The state of Nevada has made itself a reputation for vigorously pursuing foreclosure fraud. Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, along with local law enforcement have been cracking down on fraudsters as the state struggles to maintain fair foreclosure practices.

12/19/2011 Bondi Lax on Lenders

Critics: Bondi lax in pursuing big mortgage lenders amid continuing foreclosure crisis

As attorneys general in other foreclosure-battered states step up their investigations into fraudulent mortgage practices by large U.S. banks, some Florida groups are accusing state Attorney General Pam Bondi of being soft on the giant lenders.

Original Source Article By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel

Florida's Democratic state senators recently released a video that targets Bondi, a Republican elected to a nonpartisan office. Titled "Ignoring the Florida Foreclosure Crisis," the video contrasts new fraud investigations launched by California Attorney General Kamala Harris with controversial forced resignations of two key mortgage-fraud investigators in Bondi's Fort Lauderdale office.

12/18/2011 Foreclosure as Crime Scene

Treat Foreclosure as a Crime Scene

Illustration by Matt Mahurin

Bubbling under the surface of politics is the foreclosure crisis — where the power of big finance is brushing up against the rule of law.

Opinion / Politico

The party leaders seem to have decided it is essentially a giant — but unavoidable — tragedy. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said foreclosures have to clear for the housing market to reset. The Obama administration, meanwhile, has spent only about $2 billion of the $75 billion authorized for the Home Affordable Modification Program.

But the foreclosure crisis is not only a few million personal tragedies. It is a few million crime scenes.

12/15/2011 Poor America

Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income

GRAPHIC CREDIT:
The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index
for 20 major metropolitan areas is one of the most
closely watched gauges of the housing market.
The figures for September were released Nov. 29.

Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans - nearly 1 in 2 -
have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

Original Source Article by HOPE YEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

12/8/2011 California & Nevada Team Up

California, Nevada team up to investigate mortgage fraud

PHOTO:

Last year, some mortgage lenders and government officials took action after discovering that many mortgage documents were mishandled.

In September, Harris had pulled out of the so-called 50 State Attorneys General settlement negotiations with a handful of the nation’s largest banks, saying “this is not the deal California homeowners have been waiting for” and that she would pursue an “independent” path.

Original Source Article By Brady Dennis, WASHINGTON POST

In the most recent blow to a broad state and federal settlement with big banks, the two states most hurt by housing foreclosures announced a plan Tuesday to combine forces to investigate mortgage fraud and related misdeeds.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said they are working together to examine a wide array of abuses, including questionable documents, shoddy loan servicing, and haphazard mortgage bundling\ and sales to investors.

12/2/2011 Massachusetts Sues

Massachusetts Sues 5 Major Banks Over Foreclosure Practices

Attorney General Martha Coakley announcing the legal action.

PHOTO CREDIT:
Jodi Hilton for The New York Times

Original Source Article By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

As reported in the New York Times (and elsewhere), Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley sued the five largest mortgage lenders Thursday, seeking relief for consumers hurt by unfair and deceptive business practices.

The Massachusetts action not only creates significant new legal headaches for the banks named (Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage), but it also diminishes the likelihood of a comprehensive settlement between the banks and federal and state officials.

Also named as a defendant was MERS, an entity set up by lenders to speed property transfers by circumventing local land recording officials.

TOM'S BLOG:_IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN FORECLOSURE DEFENSE