U.S. close to punishing banks over foreclosure fraud

(Reuters) - U.S. bank regulators are finalizing punishments against mortgage servicers after a probe found "critical deficiencies" with the industry's foreclosure processes.  John Walsh, the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said a national probe of foreclosure paperwork and procedures found that mortgage servicers broke laws, and that a small number of homeowners were wrongly evicted.

"These deficiencies have resulted in violations of state and local foreclosure laws, regulations, or rules and have had an adverse affect on the functioning of the mortgage markets and the U.S. economy as a whole," Walsh said in congressional testimony obtained on Wednesday by Reuters.

Walsh did not identify any servicers, but his testimony noted that the probe included Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo, among others.

In separate testimony on Wednesday, David Stevens, the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, said the penalties could range from fines paid to the government to loan modifications to banks forgiving some of the principal balance on the loan.

Asked if the magnitude of the potential penalties could reach the range of billions or even tens of billions of dollars, Stevens declined to comment.

Continue reading at Reuters...

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UPDATE 2-BofA subpoenaed over VIP home loans

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb 16 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. House of Representatives oversight committee issued a subpoena on Wednesday to Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) for information about mortgage lender Countrywide's home loans program for so-called VIPs.

The subpoena is the latest in a two-year probe by U.S. Representative Daniel Issa, chairman of the committee, into Countrywide Financial Corp's mortgage program that allegedly gave better loan terms and preferential treatment to allies of former Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo.

The program was known informally as the "Friends of Angelo" inside the mortgage lender.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/16/bankofamerica-subpoena-idUSN1620214120110216

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Fed's Sarah Raskin warns on mortgage servicing

(Reuters) - A top Federal Reserve official on Friday warned mortgage servicing industry executives they could face enforcement actions and that they shoulder some of the blame for a sluggish economic recovery.

"I have seen little or no evidence of improvement in the operational performance of servicers since the onset of the crisis in 2007," Fed Governor Sarah Raskin said in remarks to an industry conference in Park City, Utah.

"Until these operational problems are addressed once and for all, the foreclosure crisis will continue and the housing sector will languish," she said.

Raskin, formerly the top bank regulator for the state of Maryland, said a review of loan servicing practices shows widespread weaknesses still exist.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/12/us-usa-fed-raskin-idUSTRE71B08E20110212

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UPDATE 3-U.S. SEC charges ex-IndyMac execs with fraud

WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A former chief executive of failed mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp and two former chief financial officers were accused of securities fraud for concealing the bank's financial condition, U.S. securities regulators said on Friday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in one lawsuit that former IndyMac CEO Michael Perry and former CFO Scott Keys filed false disclosures about the financial health of the company and its IndyMac Bank subsidiary.

California-based IndyMac, which specialized in a type of mortgage that often required minimal documentation from borrowers, was seized by banking regulators in July of 2008 as the financial crisis gathered steam.

Its failure cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which stands behind bank deposits, about $12.8 billion.

Another former IndyMac CFO, Blair Abernathy, settled a related SEC lawsuit without admitting or denying the allegations, paying $125,000 plus prejudgment interest.

The SEC alleges that the three executives received internal reports about the deteriorating capital and liquidity positions at the bank in 2007 and 2008. But the SEC said they kept that information under wraps even as the company filed to sell millions of dollars in new stock.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/11/sec-indymac-idUSN1115950420110211

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Comments

[DailyBail]

UPDATE 2-BofA subpoenaed over VIP home loans

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb 16 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. House of Representatives oversight committee issued a subpoena on Wednesday to Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) for information about mortgage lender Countrywide's home loans program for so-called VIPs.

The subpoena is the latest in a two-year probe by U.S. Representative Daniel Issa, chairman of the committee, into Countrywide Financial Corp's mortgage program that allegedly gave better loan terms and preferential treatment to allies of former Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo.

The program was known informally as the "Friends of Angelo" inside the mortgage lender.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/16/bankofamerica-subpoena-idUSN1620214120110216

[DailyBail]

Fed's Sarah Raskin warns on mortgage servicing

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/12/us-usa-fed-raskin-idUSTRE71B08E20110212

[DailyBail]

UPDATE 3-U.S. SEC charges ex-IndyMac execs with fraud

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/11/sec-indymac-idUSN1115950420110211

[DailyBail]

Core inflation fastest in more than a year

(Reuters) - U.S. core consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in more than a year in January, indicating a long period of slowing inflation had run its course.

The Labor Department said on Thursday its core Consumer Price Index, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.2 percent -- the largest gain since October 2009. The index rose 0.1 percent in December.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/17/us-usa-economy-idUSTRE70R0SG20110217

[Sell Short]

IndyMac was founded by countrywide people. Both criminal banks did a lot of damage to our economy.
countrywide was the lender that created subprime and liar loans. Angelo Mozilo was the crook that caused all this mess and he got away by selling most of his shares at the top. Shame on this tanned criminal.

[john]

California (and that region of the US) gets Enronized again...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/17/us-california-carbon-idUSTRE71G3R220110217

[snip]

The Carbon Rush officially gets underway next year. Power plants, factories and other companies will have to obtain an "allowance" permit for every ton of carbon dioxide they produce. Allowances will be sold at state auctions and on an open market.

Here are a few links that tell you a bit about how it works in the Northeast Region:

http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2010/10/16/cap-trade/

http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2010/09/06/1016/

http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2010/09/12/cap-and-trade-shivers-as-global-warming-auctions-chill/

http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2011/01/09/1620/

This is just for starters.....

[john]

The next 2 stories in this post are directly related to carbon markets.

DE Shaw Plans to Lower Fee Structure

http://www.hedgefund.net/publicnews/default.aspx?story=12208

[snip]

The change comes a few weeks after Shaw’s 2010 gains of 2.45% fell far behind its yearly average of about 10%, the investor told Reuters.

Shaw’s high rates of return have allowed the firm to charge higher fees than most hedge funds, that is, up until a few months ago when the firm cut about 150 jobs from its workforce.


Europe's Carbon Mafia, And Ours

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/532610/201005061918/Europes-Carbon-Mafia-And-Ours.aspx

[snip]

"Carbon markets are highly susceptible to fraud, given their complexity and the fact that it's not always clear what is being traded," says Oscar Reyes of Carbon Trade Watch.

As we also have noted, the mechanism for such phantom carbon trading here has already been established in the form of the Chicago Climate Exchange. The Joyce Foundation in 2000 and 2001 provided the seed money to start CCX when Barack Obama sat on its board.

[G Street]

The housing market was a big part of the economy - even pre-bubble. All the people formerly employed directly and indirectly by housing are now waiting, waiting, waiting, for a recovery that will not come because the bankers are playing games for their own benefit at the expense of millions of unemployed.

John, I used to consider myself a liberal, a Democrat, but as I see them more interested in schemes like carbon trading while I see my community slowly going down for the third time... what can I say but I've changed. I expect I'll be supporting Ron Paul - not the rest of the GOP mind you, but Ron Paul as the only person in either party willing to talk about CHANGING what we're doing before it completely destroys this country.

[john]

@ G Street, I too would be inclined to support Dr. Paul.

[Citizenpaine]

The idiots who needed to be punished have already been punished, that is the American tax payers, wake up and smell the manure. Heres a fact you can take to the bank (pun intended) TYRANNY WILL NOT BE VOTED OUT OF OFFICE, IT MUST BE THROWN OUT ON IT'S ASS, AND STOMPED INTO THE GROUND.

[Canuck]

A friend of mine suggested they WANT an American recolution. They're actively provoking it. We have Obama approving $44 billion for 275 body scanners
http://www.naturalnews.com/031358_naked_body_scanners_federal_budget.html

Then they cut LIHAEP in half, leaving millions of marginalized and elderly without heating assistance
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/113266/20110216/liheap-obama.htm#ixzz1EGAYz9nZ

Then the fact that insiders withdrew Egyptian pounds from their accounts days before the Jan 25 revolution began
(I need time to find that link) In the days that followed the Egypt pound tanked but insiders had already put their money into foreign currency and lost nothing. If there was a massive revolution in the US and the US$ tanked, you can bet the insiders would have their money long gone and would buy back in at pennies on the dollar. All speculation of course, but it sure as hell would be typical of banking MO.

[Canuck]

Okay, need to put in a disclaimer

Seems DHS budget is $44.3 billion which includesfunding for more body scanners. Naturalnews.com seems to have left that info out. No telling either then, how accurate Yahoo.com has been on the issue either.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110214/ap_on_re_us/us_budget_agencies_summaries_10