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HomeMortgage Foreclosure Abuse: The Fight Continues
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 27th, 2014 8:28 AM |
I wish I had the silver bullet to address and fix the rampant abusive practices that have transpired within the mortgage servicing entities of many of our large banks and elsewhere.
I don’t.
That said, the ongoing problematic issues within mortgage servicing practices remain prevalent. How do I know? I hear from people entangled in this mess on an ongoing basis.
In my opinion, these issues go right to the core of what I believe is the problem with the structure of our banking industry in America today. That problem centers on the fact that we have a few banks (e.g., JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo) that dominate the market, especially within the mortgage realm.
As many longtime readers of my blog are aware, this economic structure known as an oligopoly allows, if not promotes, the following abusive type practices: (more…)
My Thoughts on JP Morgan’s $13 Billion Fine
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 21st, 2013 10:12 AM |
Does a $13 billion fine such as that levied against JP Morgan represent justice?
I was asked by my friends at Global Economic Intersection to weigh in on the following questions regarding this penalty seemingly so large as to be hard to fathom.
Is the reported settlement appropriate? Sufficient? Insufficient?
How many criminal charges would be appropriate? None? Operational management? Executive management?
If you believe the action by DoJ is appropriate, has it been timely?
Should there be similar action against other banks? (more…)
Richard Bowen: The Corruption Extends to the Highest Levels of Government
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 23rd, 2013 10:02 AM |
I thank the many devoted readers of Sense on Cents who made sure I was aware of a riveting, must-read article in yesterday’s New York Times written by Bill Cohan, a Wall Street-Washington critic without peer.
Cohan writes of the travails of Richard Bowen, former whistleblower at Citigroup, who ran headlong into the fortress manned by Robert Rubin and friends. Bowen was a Citi employee who blew the whistle regarding the preponderance of defective mortgages running through the Citi pipeline.
He brought the knowledge of this activity to the highest perch within the bank including the attention of Robert Rubin. How was he treated? With what most would define as ‘the silent treatment.’ Once silenced, he was then subsequently shown the door.
While Bowen was pushed out of Citigroup back in 2009, he has not been silenced since then. (more…)
Mortgage Fraud Task Force Stats: Did You See This? WOW
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 12th, 2013 7:41 AM |
In what has to be one of the greatest indictments to date of the lack of meaningful integrity in Washington, news broke late last week regarding mortgage fraud investigation and enforcement statistics that totally blew me away.
Before we dive into the cesspool that defines this story, let’s set the proper backdrop.
One would think that a government initiative with the name Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force would have been incredibly busy over the last few years. For those unaware, President Obama established this initiative in November 2009. Its mission?
. . . to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial crisis as well as those who would attempt to take advantage of the efforts at economic recovery. (more…)
PBS’ Frontline: Fraud Was . . . The F-Bomb”
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 22nd, 2013 7:29 PM |
I will be watching Frontline this evening on PBS as a documentary on fraud within the mortgage industry airs. This show, The Untouchables, will interview a number of mortgage due diligence underwriters.
What did they have to say? This 5-minute Frontline preview says a lot, including ….
“Fraud in the due diligence world, fraud was the F-word or the F-bomb,” said Tom Leonard. “You didn’t use that word,” (more…)
Would You Buy a Used Car From Lloyd Blankfein?
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 8th, 2013 8:41 AM |
America awakes this morning with another 20 billion reasons not to trust those running our major financial institutions, our regulatory agencies, or those in Congress ultimately charged with overseeing them.
Wall Street’s merely paying of fines for activities (mortgage fraud) that by any measure would be defined as part and parcel of racketeering only serves to further erode what little trust the American public might still hold in these aforementioned entities.
Trust….what price does trust trade at? What value does it hold? Would you know it if you ‘saw’ it? (more…)
SEC Settles with JP Morgan/Bear Stearns: Crime Pays . . . . . . . . . . (“Why I Left Bear Stearns”) . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 16th, 2012 8:29 PM |
This evening I feel the need to take a shower after having just read the most despicable settlement yet rendered by the SEC. In fact, having just read this settlement, I am embarrassed to be a citizen of a nation with such little moral fiber as to let what is a blatant criminal act go properly unpunished. This is a sad day in America. I do not write that for simple effect.
I write that because I believe a settlement this afternoon between the SEC and JP Morgan/Bear Stearns closes the door on perhaps the single most egregious criminal act I have yet come across while writing this blog. (more…)
Barack and Mitt: America’s Unfinished Business
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 6th, 2012 1:08 PM |
Should we even have to remind them?
Do the crowds on both sides of the political aisle think Americans are this naive? Well, actually, on that note, the pols from both sides are right. Many Americans remain exceptionally naive regarding far too many issues, financial and otherwise.
The media is clearly of little help in exposing the ugly underside of the Wall Street – Washington conspiracy. That said, many Americans are now far savvier than they were a few short years ago when it comes to appreciating the rackets being run by BOTH political parties, their cronies on Wall Street, and the puppets ensconced within too many of our regulators. (more…)
Sherry Hunt: A True American Hero
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 9th, 2012 9:08 AM |
“This case demonstrates that the notion that the bailed-out banks have somehow found God and have reformed their ways in the aftermath of the financial crisis is pure myth,” he says.
“Sherry is an absolutely fantastic lady who knows what she’s doing. She has a conscience. I have the highest regard for her.”
At this point in our nation’s history, America needs some real heroes.
Certainly those who had put and continue to put their lives in harm’s way for our freedom and liberty are true American heroes. What about in the world of finance, though? (more…)
Racketeering Charge Against BofA and MERS
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 10th, 2012 5:32 AM |
A little over a year ago I became aware of robo-signing within the mortgage servicing industry and broached the topic that the activity likely rose to a level of racketeering. I aggressively questioned, Did Wall Street Violate the Racketeering Act?
Believing that the activity did likely rise to a level of racketeering, I recommended that attorneys general should pursue institutions involved in these fraudulent and abusive practices with a RICO action.
Well, it appears that somebody is now doing just that with specific focus on activities that transpired at Bank of America and MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System). (more…)
