By Joshua Gallu and Dawn Kopecki – Mar 11, 2011 6:45 PM ET

Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd received notice from U.S. regulators that he may face claims for misleading investors about Fannie Mae’s exposure to subprime loans when he ran the mortgage firm during the financial crisis.

Mudd, who was ousted when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were seized by regulators in September 2008, confirmed in a statement to Bloomberg News that he received the so-called Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

Continue reading… BLOOMBERG

By Scot J. Paltrow

WASHINGTON | Fri Mar 11, 2011 1:10pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A settlement proposal by state attorneys general with the five biggest U.S. mortgage servicers stands out less for what it contains than for what it omits — terms for resolving the most difficult issues dividing regulators and the big banks.

The proposal, which calls for a dramatic increase in loan modifications, is intended as the basis for settling allegations of widespread wrongdoing by the big loan servicers in handling millions of foreclosures.

By David McLaughlin – Mar 11, 2011 3:05 PM ET

Virginia is among “at least a dozen” U.S. states that don’t back a proposal submitted last week to resolve a nationwide probe of foreclosure and mortgage- servicing practices, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli said.

There isn’t consensus among all 50 state attorneys general about the terms of the settlement proposed to U.S. banks, Cuccinelli, a Republican, said today in a telephone interview.

“When some attorneys general found out what was being agreed to, they had a great degree of unease over it,” Cuccinelli said. He declined to name which states, aside from his own, were opposed to parts of the plan.

by Kim Miller

Federal mortgage backer Freddie Mac is taking its foreclosure cases from the Fort Lauderdale-based Marshall C. Watson law firm, one of eight Florida firms facing state scrutiny for its handling of home repossessions.

Brad German, a spokesman for Freddie Mac, confirmed the removal of the cases this morning, but did not say why Watson will no longer be used.

“Going forward our servicers will be directing business to other counsel,” German said.

In a statement, the Marshall C. Watson law firm said the parting was a mutual decision made by both sides.

“Freddie Mac and our firm mutually decided to part ways,” that statement said. “The Freddie Mac portfolio was only a small portion of the firm’s business, representing less than ten percent. Our firm will continue to work with Freddie Mac to ensure the transition of files is expedited and smooth. We are operating as normal with respect to all other clients and as always remain focused on providing superior service.”

Affidavit of Professor Ira Mark Bloom for U.S. Bank v. Congress

A Must Read…

Scribd

from AARP’s Press Release:

The plaintiffs, from Indiana, New York, and Maryland, are represented by AARP Foundation Litigation and the Washington, DC law firm of Mehri & Skalet, PLLC.  The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks an injunction prohibiting HUD from abandoning long-standing rules and from illegally foreclosing on surviving spouses.  These arbitrary changes allow lenders to initiate foreclosure and eviction actions against the plaintiffs.

The case will have broad national implications, because the outcome will determine whether spouses will be able to stay in homes that are now “underwater” as a result of the housing downturn, a possibility that reverse mortgage borrowers have always paid insurance premiums to protect against.

By Ben Berkowitz

NEW YORK | Fri Mar 11, 2011 1:32am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. officials believe China’s insurance regulator passed on proprietary information about AIG to its Chinese rivals during the American firm’s collapse in 2008, according to unpublished diplomatic cables.

The U.S. government bailout of American International Group Inc in 2008 sent shock waves around the world, and China seemed especially rattled.

The Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) forced AIG’s local operations to open their books on a daily basis after the company’s September 2008 rescue, according to a series of U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and provided to Reuters by a third party. The regulator then shared the confidential information with local competitors, in part to convince at least one of them to buy the troubled assets.

Continue reading … REUTERS

March 10, 2011

City, towns lose $400k for CPA

By Jonathan L’Ecuyer Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Thu Mar 10, 2011, 11:39 PM EST

Essex County’s register of deeds says that Gloucester and Cape Ann’s three towns have been shortchanged nearly $400,000 in money that should have been earmarked for their Community Preservation Act funds, thanks to a business set up by major banks and mortgage lenders to track of millions of mortgages across the country and bypass the system.

Register of Deeds John O’Brien says the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS, has cheated taxpayers out of at least $22 million across Essex County alone. He is asking for the help of the attorney general’s office to recover that money — and upward of $200 million he believes is owed to county registries across the state.

This area is for Members Only

Over 250+ Cases and growing

All at your finger tips

Order now.

Only $49/ per month

Access code with link will be emailed to you shortly.

*These fees help pay for research and costs associated in running this site/ scribd account might be necessary to download*

COURT OF APPEALS
DECISION
DATED AND FILED
March 10, 2011

STATE OF WISCONSIN

PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION

v.

ROBERT L. KOLODZIEJ AND DEBRA SNOBL, AS CO-PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ESTATE OFMARCELLA L. KOLODZIEJ,
DECEASED

Excerpts:

¶21 Because the assignment of the mortgage is neither authenticated by averments in an affidavit that would suffice at trial nor self-authenticated by means of a certified copy, it cannot be considered in determining whether PHH made a prima facie case for summary judgment.4

<SNIP>

¶28 Because PHH’s submissions do not provide authentication for the mortgage assignment and for the endorsed note, its submissions do not make a prima facie showing that it is the holder of the mortgage and note. The court therefore erred in granting summary judgment in PHH’s favor. This conclusion makes it unnecessary to address the Estate’s argument that, even assuming these documents were authenticated, PHH still did not make a prima facie case for foreclosure.7

continue below…

Scribd