Imagine if ever state participated in setting new laws? C’est la vie to fraudulent documents!
Still shocking that there are settlement talks when an investigation NEVER took place. I’m also surprised that the AG’s going after the banks, are getting absolutely no respect from the other AG’s to follow…
Remember that it’s not just a bunch of AGs at the table here. It’s also the Obama Administration. And therein lies the problem…
Credit Slips-
The NY Times had some details today about the multi-state attorney general mortgage servicing settlement in the works. It looks every bit as awful as one might have feared. Here’s the criticial take-away: this is bupkis. It gives meaningless relief to a meaningless number of randomly or adversely selected homeowners. It doesn’t do justice, even by halves.
First, though, there’s a detail reported in Gretchen Morgenson’s otherwise insightful piece that I have on good source is incorrect. The piece states that the banks would be doing principal write-downs on loans they own or service. That’s gotta be incorrect. The banks can do principal write-downs only on loans that they own. They have no legal authority to pledge write-downs on loans that they service on behalf of investors. (Remember the Greenwich Financial suit against Countrywide for doing just that?)
There’s a critical implication here, then about the scope of the multi-state settlement: at best 20% of the population of underwater mortgagees will be helped by this settlement, say 2.2 million homeowners. The other 8.8 million (and probably 10 million by my reckoning) are SOL. How do you think they’re going to feel about their AGs? About their President? Too many times have American homeowners been promised help without receiving any. It’s getting old.
Obama and the AGs still balk at the only solution to the housing-driven recession
Salon-
There is $700 billion in negative equity in the U.S. housing market. That means Americans owe $700 billion more than their homes are worth. Any plan for the housing sector or the U.S. economy, that doesn’t take a serious bite out of negative equity isn’t serious.
Yet un-serious is what we continue to get from elected officials. This week the Obama Administration announced a new plan to help underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages to lower rates. The plan, really an expansion of an existing program, is the latest in a series of programs designed to deal with the moribund housing market. Each has proven a more dismal disappointment than the next.
So too with the latest version of the proposed settlement between the state Attorneys General, led by Iowa’s Tom Miller, and the mortgage servicing industry. Yes, the deal has been sweetened by the addition of some interest rate reductions for underwater homeowners who are current on their payments. But that’s small potatoes.
By now, I hope you fully understand, if your AG has yet to join The State AG’s that are holding the bankers feet to the fire, than they’re working hand by hand with the bankers against you.
AG’s are there to serve the peoples interest not those that commit fraud on a massive level.
NYTimes-
Cutting to the chase: if you thought this was the deal that would hold banks accountable for filing phony documents in courts, foreclosing without showing they had the legal right to do so and generally running roughshod over anyone who opposed them, you are likely to be disappointed.
Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden sued the private national mortgage registry MERS, alleging a slew of deceptive trade practices that prevent homeowners from staving off foreclosure.
so they decided to privitize it, on their own. and in doing so, they did two things. they avoided millions upon millions of fees, and are able to more nimbly secure ties to mortgage backed securities. but they forgot to keep track of mortgages. and in Delaware, in 72% of the cases we’ve investigated, and this is just the beginning, they’ve literally foreclosed on behalf of the wrong entity. so they exercise the right to foreclosure on an entity, and in one case in Delaware that we have, they foreclosed on behalf of an entity that no longer existed. so that’s how screwed up this has become. they don’t follow their own rules, and that’s why we think they violated the Delaware deceptive trade practices act.
MERSCORP, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, Defendants.
VERIFIED COMPLAINT
Excerpt:
17. Since January 1, 2008, MERS has filed over 1,600 foreclosure actions in Delaware. Thousands more foreclosures on MERS-registered mortgages have been filed in Delaware after assignments out of the MERS System that were based on the unreliable data in MERS’ records. Many more thousands of mortgages associated with outstanding loans remain recorded in the Delaware county land records in the name of MERS without appropriate indications or avenues to ascertain the identity of the true mortgagee in interest.
[…]
51. Many foreclosed-upon mortgage loans have previously been securitized and are purportedly owned at the time of foreclosure by a securitization trust. Under the law governing the creation of many securitization trusts, the contractual arrangements setting forth the manner and conditions under which mortgage loans were to be sold into a securitization is crucial to whether the securitization succeeded in owning the mortgages it purportedly bought.
[…]
C. Defendants committed and continue to commit deceptive trade practices by assigning or foreclosing upon mortgages for which MERS did not possess authority to act because the mortgage loan was never properly transferred to the purported beneficial owner.
55. The MERS System is designed to reflect the intended transfer of the beneficial ownership of a mortgage loan, but does not have adequate safeguards to ensure that the transfer recorded in MERS System accurately reflects an actual transfer of ownership. Where MERS seeks to assign a mortgage or foreclose on a mortgage loan on behalf of a securitization trust that, despite being registered as the mortgage owner in the MERS System, does not own the loan, MERS acts without authority. This is a deceptive trade practice within the meaning of 6 Del. C. § 2532(a)(2), (3), (5) and (12).
I think MERS’ Janice Spokeswoman needs to be updated on all that happened from 1998-2002 before she comments.
Just like the others who have resigned when the company is on the brink of exposure. Wait until they get a hold of those who were involved from the beginning (X-CEO and X-VP/Treasurer)… who know what’s up.
But they will be reeled back in because they knew all along this was bound to happen. You ain’t so smart now… are you?
New York’s attorney general has subpoenaed MERS, the electronic registry of mortgages used by the banking industry, seeking information about how it is used by major banks, a person familiar with the matter said.
Delaware also took action by filing a lawsuit on Thursday that accuses MERS of taking unlawful shortcuts in dealing with the foreclosure crisis.
The registry used by the banking industry is “unreliable” and “frequently inaccurate,” Beau Biden, the state’s attorney general said in the lawsuit, which seeks penalties of $10,000 per violation.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a subpoena earlier this week demanding documents from MERS about how it is used by major banks, a source told Reuters.
The subpoena is part of a joint New York-Delaware mortgage probe, the source said.
On October 27, 2011 Attorney General Beau Biden filed a lawsuit against the mortgage registry MERS that is at the center of the housing crisis. The suit charges that MERS has repeatedly violated the Delaware’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
If you are a Delaware resident and believe you have been harmed by MERS, contact the Attorney General’s Office by e-mail at mortgage@state.de.us or call the Attorney General’s Mortgage Hotline at 800-220-5424.
What is MERS: In 1995, banks and others in the mortgage lending industry created the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (“MERS”) – a national registry to track ownership and servicing rights for residential mortgages. This system is designed to facilitate mortgage securitizations and circumvent the traditional county Recorders of Deeds offices. The rapid rise in popularity of mortgage backed securities and their subsequent decline in value is a major cause of the housing crisis that sent America’s economy into the largest collapse since the Great Depression.
Foreclosure crisis in Delaware: Delaware is experiencing a record rate of foreclosures. The foreclosure rate tripled from 2008 to 2009, rising from 2,000 homes annually to 6,000. A record 6,457 homes were foreclosed on in 2010.
Who owns/uses MERS: There are more than 5,500 members representing the most significant players in the mortgage industry, including: mortgage lenders and servicers (Bank of America, CitiMortgage, Inc., GMAC Residential Funding Corporation, and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.); government-sponsored entities (e.g., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac); insurance and title companies and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
MERS in Delaware: MERS purports to hold more than 30% of Delaware mortgages. Since January 1, 2008, MERS has filed more than 1,600 foreclosure actions in its own name against Delaware homeowners. Additionally, thousands of other homeowners whose mortgages have been tracked in the MERS system were foreclosed on by entities whose right to the property was unclear because of the unreliability of MERS’ records. Thousands more Delaware homeowners currently hold mortgages with MERS listed as the owner, but with no way to actually determine the true owner.
What is Attorney General Biden alleging: MERS violated Delaware’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act by creating an unregulated shadowy registry that is unreliable and inaccurate and blocks homeowners from learning which entity truly owns their mortgage. The complaint highlights three major deficiencies:
• MERS obscures important information from borrowers and what is available to borrowers is frequently inaccurate. • MERS acts without authority • MERS is a “front” organization that does not enforce its own rules
How the mortgage industry works: A mortgage loan taken out by a homeowner is really two documents – the first is a promissory note requiring the borrower to repay the holder of the note. The second document (the mortgage instrument) allows the holder to foreclose on the property if the loan is not repaid. The person or entity holding the note receives the money from the borrower’s monthly mortgage payments.
How securitization works: Banks that make the mortgage loans to homeowners sell the mortgage notes to other financial institutions. Several times over, the loans are bundled into investments known as mortgage-backed securities and the notes are sold to large investment groups, such as pension funds.
Where MERS comes in: As the notes are sold in the securitization process, someone has to service the loans and hold legal title to the mortgage instrument. Servicers do all the work involved with a mortgage loan on the lender side – physically collecting and distributing payments, answering borrowers’ questions, etc. MERS acts as passive place-holder on the County Recorder of Deeds public registry. Additionally, MERS can also file foreclosure actions on behalf of the note-holders in foreclosure proceedings. MERS allows its members to sell mortgages many times over without recording the transactions at the local Recorders of Deeds offices, thereby avoiding fees, eliminating any official paper trail and creating significant confusion that has led to improper foreclosures.
What the lawsuit seeks: The suit asks the Court of Chancery to impose various sanctions on MERS, including requiring it to audit its records to ensure accuracy, stop foreclosing on homes without divulging the true owner of the mortgage, and correct records filed with county Recorder of Deeds that do not list the entity that owns the mortgage. The suit seeks a civil penalty against MERS of up to $10,000 for each willful violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as restitution to borrowers who were harmed by these violations. The exact amount will be determined during trial.
Delaware joined what is becoming a growing legal battle against the mortgage industry today, charging in a Chancery Court suit that consumers facing foreclosure were purposely misled and deceived by the company that supposedly kept track of their loans’ ownership.
By operating a shadowy and frequently inaccurate private database that obscured the mortgages’ true owners, Merscorp made it difficult for hundreds of Delaware homeowners to fight foreclosure actions in court or negotiate new terms on their loans, the suit filed by the Attorney General’s Office said.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he is working with Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden to investigate possible criminal acts by financial institutions tied to the foreclosure crisis in an interview today on the cable news network MSNBC.
Tried to get the video clip off the Rachel Maddow show but it would never work. So until it’s fixed there won’t be a video of his interview.
Imagine that a group of arsonists was terrorizing your town. First they’d buy insurance on a stranger’s home, then they’d show up with a blowtorch and a tanker truck filled with gasoline and burn the place down. Imagine that they’ve burned down a thousand homes this way, ruining the lives of the homeowners — and everyone else’s, too, as real estate values plunged and the local economy collapsed.
Now let’s imagine that the Mayor, the DA, and the Chief of Police said they’ve come up with a great “settlement”: The arsonists will pay a small fine, and they’ll never be prosecuted for arson. Plus, if they’re asked very nicely, they’ll also agree to provide a little help to 27 out of the 1,000 families they made homeless — although they’d control the ‘help’ process and the town might wind up footing the bill anyway.
And one more thing: They get to keep the gasoline truck and the blowtorch. ____________________________
People NEED JOBS ..!! I don’t care if you refi or reduce the mortgage 50%… “people” need jobs.
Do all the math you want and all these mortgages will head back into default. Is anyone paying close attention to the economy? Just because AG’s have security and banker back ups, there are millions who can barely put food on the table. So this refinance plan WILL NOT WORK for all!
Again, if anyone does this… you will create new paper to correct any issues that may exist with the original paper trail.
It’s a trap and no wonder this world is failing.
LA Times-
California is reemerging as a central focus for state attorneys general hoping to reach a nationwide wrongful-foreclosure settlement with major banks, even though the Golden State walked away from talks three weeks ago.
Iowa Atty. Gen. Tom Miller, who is leading the negotiations on behalf of the states and federal agencies, met with representatives of the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers in Washington on Friday to discuss details of a new plan aimed at enticing California back into the fold.
Beau Biden, Attorney General for the State of Delaware, has made it his mission along to hold the banks accountable for their behavior in such a way that we can discipline and encourage our way into a system that actually resurrects a positive future for the people in this country. Here’s his interview.
It’s official now and it’s very clear that the AG’s behind this foreclosure fraud settlement are purposely doing something so insane that it does not surprise us. For example, take the Michael Hudson’s iWatch series that takes us behind the scenes of what really went down in Countrywide.
Now take a look at what Reuters is reporting the AG’s want to include in the settlement
In recent days, the state attorneys general agreed to release major banks from claims that they made legal errors when first originating the loans, such as approving loans for borrowers without verifying any income, according to two people familiar with the talks.
Is there any other reports out there of more fraudulent activity we can post so this also gets included in the settlement before it’s wrapped up in the coming few days?
Michael Hudson takes us inside Countrywide’s subprime mortgage writing machine, where ‘fast and sleazy’ carried the day…
Another installment from ‘The Great Mortgage Cover-Up’
iWATCH-
After she lost her job in the fall of 2007, Cassandra Daniels had a word with a trio of her managers. As she recalls it, she told them she was praying that, someday, they’d learn to use their positions of power “to uplift your staff instead of destroying people.”
She cleaned out her desk and taped a handwritten sign to her computer screen, quoting one of her favorite gospel songs: “GIANTS DO FALL.”
The banks not only forge documents, they make sure to “eliminate a paper trail” —
So what were ‘Shadow Approvals’? Read Part 2 of ‘The Great Mortgage Cover-up’ and find out:
A whistleblower speaks out…
iWATCHNEWS-
The mortgage market was struggling in March 2007 when Countrywide promoted Eileen Foster to executive vice president and tapped her to take over the company’s mortgage fraud unit.
Home prices were sputtering, borrower defaults were climbing, and the industry leader, Countywide, would soon be forced to ask Bank of America for an infusion of capital to help it keep afloat.
What’s your experience with the mortgage industry?
In the coming weeks, iWatch News reporter Michael Hudson will be writing a series of stories following up on our two-part investigation, “The Great Mortgage Cover-up.“
To help inform his reporting, Hudson would like to hear from current and former mortgage industry workers about their experiences. Have a story to tell? Tips to guide our reporting? Tell us what you think we should know. The information you share is confidential and will only be used by journalists of the Public Insight Network for journalistic purposes.
Investigation Reveals Legacy of Corruption in Mortgage Documents at BOA/Countrywide.
iwatchnews-
In the summer of 2007, a team of corporate investigators sifted through mounds of paper pulled from shred bins at Countrywide Financial Corp. mortgage shops in and around Boston.
By intercepting the documents before they were sliced by the shredder, the investigators were able to uncover what they believed was evidence that branch employees had used scissors, tape and Wite-Out to create fake bank statements, inflated property appraisals and other phony paperwork. Inside the heaps of paper, for example, they found mock-ups that indicated to investigators that workers had, as a matter of routine, literally cut and pasted the address for one home onto an appraisal for a completely different piece of property.
Sit down and relax… you’re going to need a comfortable chair. But, I promise you… it’ll be worth it.
In the fall of 2008, news stories about “scammers” taking advantage of homeowners at risk of foreclosure started appearing frequently in the media. I remember watching a prime-time national news magazine type program, I think it was 20/20, that was airing a story that featured a sleazy looking middle-age man in Denver, hurriedly walking from a small, strip mall store front to his car, his hand covering his face, as a reporter tried to ask him questions that he obviously did not plan to answer.
The story involved a company that had charged a handful of homeowners several thousand dollars up front to help them negotiate with their banks to get their mortgages modified. The core issue being raised by the show’s host was that the homeowners had been victims of a scam because, as a couple of the homeowners interviewed were saying, their loans had not yet been modified.
I remember wondering, to begin with, how in the world such a story had become the subject of a national news magazine television program. I mean, “Three homeowners get ripped off by small business in Denver,” is not usually the sort of event that makes national headlines. The implication being made was that this case was emblematic of a more widespread problem, but nothing further was offered in the way of proof… no statistics, no additional facts… just statements about how homeowners should NEVER pay anyone up front to help them negotiate with their bank over a loan modification because they were “scammers.”
A few weeks after he started working at Ameriquest Mortgage, Mark Glover looked up from his cubicle and saw a coworker do something odd. The guy stood at his desk on the twenty-third floor of downtown Los Angeles’s Union Bank Building. He placed two sheets of paper against the window. Then he used the light streaming through the window to trace something from one piece of paper to another. Somebody’s signature.
Glover was new to the mortgage business. He was twenty-nine and hadn’t held a steady job in years. But he wasn’t stupid. He knew about financial sleight of hand — at that time, he had a check-fraud charge hanging over his head in the L.A. courthouse a few blocks away. Watching his coworker, Glover’s first thought was: How can I get away with that? As a loan officer at Ameriquest, Glover worked on commission. He knew the only way to earn the six-figure income Ameriquest had promised him was to come up with tricks for pushing deals through the mortgage-financing pipeline that began with Ameriquest and extended through Wall Street’s most respected investment houses.
Glover and the other twentysomethings who filled the sales force at the downtown L.A. branch worked the phones hour after hour, calling strangers and trying to talk them into refinancing their homes with high-priced “subprime” mortgages. It was 2003, subprime was on the rise, and Ameriquest was leading the way. The company’s owner, Roland Arnall, had in many ways been the founding father of subprime, the business of lending money to home owners with modest incomes or blemished credit histories. He had pioneered this risky segment of the mortgage market amid the wreckage of the savings and loan disaster and helped transform his company’s headquarters, Orange County, California, into the capital of the subprime industry. Now, with the housing market booming and Wall Street clamoring to invest in subprime, Ameriquest was growing with startling velocity.
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