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’Kickback and relax with the mortgage reinsurance scandal
Jeff Horwitz has a cracking story in Tuesday ‘s American Banker on a previously undisclosed report by the Inspector General of the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into allegations that US banks took lucrative kickbacks from mortgage insurers.
Fannie and Freddie’s revenge — the details [updated]
– By John McDermott and Cardiff Garcia
The details of the US government’s attempted bank raid are coming in on Friday afternoon.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has filed 17 lawsuits against banks operating in the US.
Bank of America’s settlement
Remember those blemished Countrywide loans and the pointed letter from RMBS investors that Bank of America received last October?
The bondholders had alleged that Countrywide had failed to meet certain underwriting standards for the loans included in these RMBS deals and had improperly serviced the loans,
Finra probing subprime RMBS offerings
Finra, a regulator with an impressive track record of investigatory failures, is looking into the accuracy of disclosures linked to subprime RMBS offerings, according to a Reuters report on Thursday.
According to the Reuters report,
Remember New Century? The SEC sure does
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged three former top executives of New Century Financial Corporation — the bankrupt subprime lender – with securities fraud.
The SEC said the defendants — former chief executive and co-founder Brad Morrice,
SEC charges Countrywide chiefs
America’s SEC filed civil fraud charges on Thursday against Angelo Mozilo, the former Countrywide chief executive, and his two top lieutenants, alleging that they misled investors about the financial condition of the mortgage company in the months before its sale to Bank of America.
SEC accuses Angelo Mozilo of securities fraud, insider trading
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday accused Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide’s former CEO of wide-ranging securities fraud and of insider trading.
The civil lawsuit also names former Countrywide president David Sambol and former CFO Eric Sieracki.
SEC to outline fraud charges against Angelo Mozilo
Bad news for the perma-tanned one. Bloomberg reports:
June 4 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will announce a lawsuit against former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo and two others for fraud.
Why Meredith Whitney thinks a “bad bank” is a bad idea
Meredith Whitney and her team at Oppenheimer remain steadfast in their opposition to the creation of a “bad bank” that would buy so-called “toxic assets” from Wall Street’s flailing institutions (and so,
CDS wrap: It’s not different this time
This CDS wrap was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
The financial sector’s worst days were in the past. That was the conventional wisdom prevailing in the markets until recently. Governments across the globe recognised the systemic risk inherent in the financial system and were prepared to do everything in their power to avert a catastrophic collapse.
BofA to cut dividend, raise $10bn
Bank of America, the largest US bank, said Monday it would raise $10bn in capital and halve its dividend in an effort to ride out the credit crisis. The moves came as the bank reported Q3 earnings of $1.2bn – a third of the level of a year ago.
BofA in $8.6bn settlement on Countrywide
In a sweeping deal that could be worth more than $8.6bn, Bank of America has agreed to settle claims brought by state attorneys general regarding certain risky loans originated by the US mortgage lender Countrywide,
MBIA sues Countrywide Financial
MBIA Insurance is suing Countrywide Financial, alleging that the mortgage lender fraudulently induced MBIA to guarantee billions of dollars of Countrywide mortgage bonds that have cost the embattled bond insurer more than $459m.
See you in court, Countrywide edition
Footnoted.org laments the final 10Q Countrywide will ever file.
As usual, there’s plenty of insight, including the observation that the carrying value of Countrywide’s loans held for investment is $94.2bn.
Countrywide probes widen
Countrywide Financial, which was the largest US mortgage lender before being acquired by Bank of America, faces a Federal Trade Commission probe into whether its loan-servicing activities violated federal law,
CDS report: This crisis has legs
Traders in the market for credit default swaps endured a rocky start to the second half of the year, as fears about the potential credit losses at banks and brokers sent indices sharply wider.
In Europe,
BofA to cut 7,500 jobs in Countrywide acquisition
Bank of America said Thursday it expects to eliminate about 7,500 jobs over the next two years after it completes its acquisition of Countrywide, the largest US mortgage lender, reports Reuters. The job cuts amount to about 3% of the combined companies’ work forces.
BofA to complete Countrywide deal
Bank of America expects to complete its acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide by July 1, reports Reuters. In January, Bank of America agreed to pay about $4bn for Countrywide, one of the biggest US mortgage lenders.
Another measure of housing misery
For Countrywide Financial. Or Bank of America, as it is due to become. Michelle Leder points to this site, which tracks foreclosures at Countrywide and the prices at which they’re on offer.
Her comment:
BofA reverses position on Sambol
Bank of America on Wednesday reversed course on a controversial plan to appoint David Sambol, president and COO of Countrywide, to run its mortgage business following the bank’s proposed $4bn acquisition of the embattled mortgage lender.
Bank of America says sayonara, Sambol
Senator Chuck Schumer must be very pleased, indeed.
David Sambol, Countrywide’s COO and the man who was supposed to lead the soon-to-be combined BofA/Countrywide mortgage business is “retiring.”
(“Right.”)
The reins of a restructured consumer banking business will instead be led by three BofA executives – mortgage chief Barbara Desoer,
Countrywide hit by analyst note on BofA
Shares in Countrywide Financial plunged more than 13% Monday after an analyst said Bank of America should walk away from its agreed $4bn deal to acquire the troubled US mortgage lender. Paul Miller of Friedman,
BofA balks on Countrywide guarantee
Bank of America said it may not guarantee $38.1bn of Countrywide Financial’s debt after taking over the troubled US mortgage lender, fueling speculation that Countrywide’s bondholders face renewed risk of default,
Countrywide reels, MasterCard soars
Results from Countrywide Financial and MasterCard on Tuesday underscored the declining state of the US economy as mortgage defaults soared and more consumers turned to credit cards for basic purchases.
Subprime probes and that niggling fear on Wall Street
There are probably too many pressing issues on Wall Street’s doorstep (eg, writedowns, capital raisings, earnings reports and job cuts) to focus on it right now, but the FBI’s probe of the subprime mortgage industry has raised niggling fears throughout America’s stressed-out financial services industry.
BofA under pressure on Countrywide
Bank of America is under growing pressure to rescind its decision to put a top Countrywide executive in charge of the companies’ combined mortgage business after objections from US politicians and reports that Countrywide is under criminal investigation by US authorities.
SRM seeks to block Countrywide deal
Bank of America’s $4.1bn offer for Countrywide Financial was thrown into doubt on Thursday when a large shareholder in the biggest US mortgage lender said it would vote against the deal. SRM Global Fund,
SRM…Surprise (we) Ruined (your) Merger
Some have suggested to us that former UBS prop trader Jon Wood has now finally lost his mind. Then again, they do say that madness and genius are just two sides of the same coin. The “coin” happens to be a 5.19 per cent stake in Countrywide Financial,
Countrywide rises on BofA merger
Shares in Countrywide Financial rallied on Tuesday after Bank of America reaffirmed plans to buy the lender, which earlier reported a Q4 net loss of $422m. Ken Lewis, chief executive of the bank, attempted to dispel investor concerns that the merger might not be completed.