Why the Banks Fabricate and Forge Documents

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Neil Garfield

We all know that the banks committed wholesale fraud on the government, on investors, on the the court system and on borrowers. They fabricated documents, forged them, altered them, and even paid off employees of Government agencies to do things that in normal circumstances would never be tolerated.

The question is why did the banks go so far off the rails doing what they have done for millennia — making loans and documenting them? The answer is that they lied about the origination and the alleged “transfers” of servicing rights, of trustee rights, and of course the rights of their self proclaimed entities to own or enforce the “closing documents.”

The answer is that they didn’t just fabricate the paper; they also fabricated the illusion of transactions that never took place in the real world. In the real world the history of transactions was much different than what is set forth in the PR releases, government filings and pleadings in court. Every lie became another opportunity for those “support” companies that fabricated notes, mortgages, assignments, signatures, payment schedules etc.

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Here is Bill Paatalo’s follow up article on the Visionet system for fabricating signatures and entire documents.

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Posted by on Dec 27, 2016 [I would ntoe that the “resecuritization” process described there is an absence of noting which previous “Securitization” vehicles have sold all or part of their “assets” consisting of nothign but a claim because they were never funded and hence never bought anything]

Remember Harvey Keitel’s “fixer” character in Pulp Fiction?  “I’m Winston Wolf. I solve problems.” He is a no-nonsense, hard character who treats his subjects with no emotion, lives for work, and prescribes a solution to an issue that most would see as self-evident.

In my recent article involving the document reproduction mill “Visionet Systems, Inc.” (See: http://bpinvestigativeagency.com/automated-affidavit-verifications-and-lost-note-reproductions-for-bank-vendors-its-standard-business-practice/), I investigate an assignment produced by Visionet in which MERS, as nominee for defunct Greenpoint,  purports to transfer the mortgage directly to the “New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2015-1.”

During my investigation, I located Moody’s rating for this trust from June 2015 which announced, “New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2015-1 (NRMLT 2015-1) is a securitization of seasoned performing residential mortgage loans which the seller, NRZ Sponsor V LLC, will purchase on the closing date, in connection with the termination of various securitization trusts.” (See: https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-provisional-ratings-to-New-Residential-Mortgage-Loan-Trust–PR_327931).

So, here we have an admission (I’ll start by calling it “admission number one”) that loans going into this trust were previously securitized in “various securitization trusts” even though there is no documentation of any previous securitization transactions per the Visionet assignment, the Note, nor the county records for this particular property.

Here are some additional admissions within Moody’s announcement:

“Third-party Review and Reps & Warranties

American Mortgage Consultants (AMC), conducted a compliance and data integrity review on a random sample of 367 loans from the pool. The regulatory compliance review consisted of a review of compliance with Section 32/HOEPA, Federal Truth in Lending Act/Regulation Z (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Protection Act/Regulation X (TILA), and federal, state and local anti-predatory regulations. AMC ordered HDI values on all loans in the securitization in addition to an updated broker price opinions (BPOs) on 336 properties, from Clear Capital.

Upon the review of 367 loans, AMC found that 202 loans have exceptions. The majority of these exceptions were due to missing HUD and/or TIL documents, under disclosed finance charge, or missing right to cancel disclosures. 19 loans had missing original loan files. For the loans where the HUD documents, TIL documents and/or the original loan files are missing, AMC was unable to complete the testing. Although the TPR report indicated that the statute of limitations for many of these issues already passed, borrowers can still raise these legal claims in defense against foreclosure as a set off or recoupment and win damages that can reduce the amount of the foreclosure proceeds. In addition, some of these missing documents could prevent or materially delay activities such as foreclosure, loss mitigation and processing title claim under the related title insurance policy.

The seller, NRZ Sponsor V LLC, is providing a representation and warranty for mortgage files. In this R&W, and to the extent that the indenture trustee, the master servicer, the servicer, the depositor or the custodian has actual knowledge of a defective or missing mortgage loan document or a breach of a representation or warranty regarding the completeness of the mortgage file or the accuracy of the Mortgage Loan documents, and such missing document, defect or breach is preventing or materially delaying the (a) realization against the related mortgaged property through foreclosure or similar loss mitigation activity or (b) processing of any title claim under the related title insurance policy, the party with such actual knowledge will give written notice of such breach, defect or missing document, as applicable, to the seller, the indenture trustee, the depositor, the master servicer, the servicer and the custodian. Upon notification of a missing or defective mortgage loan file, the seller will have 120 days from the date it receives such notification to deliver such missing document or otherwise cure such defect or breach. If it is unable to do so, it will be obligated to replace or repurchase the mortgage loan. In our analysis we assumed that 10% of the projected default will have missing documents’ breaches that will not be remedied and result in higher than expected loss severity.”

Admission number two reveals that a compliance review exposed that nearly 55% of the loans being re-securitized had regulatory and compliance issues, including missing loan files. Moody’s seems to downplay these issues due to its belief that the statute of limitations for all this chicanery has likely run its course. But then we have admission number three – “10% of the projected default will have missing documents’ breaches that will not be remedied and result in higher than expected loss severity.”

“Will not be remedied?” Time to call in the “fixer.”

So, I looked to see who is behind “NRZ Sponsor V, LLC;” the entity providing the representations and warranties for the files. Lo and behold, it’s none other than “New Residential Investment Corp.” and its CEO/President – Michael Neirenberg. (See 10-Q: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1556593/000155659315000011/nrz-2015630x10xq.htm#s262E0972E7E05C46ADEB9296D5C183F9).

From this Deadly Clear article,

(https://deadlyclear.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/where-are-bear-stearns-mortgage-executives-now/)

“Four of the executives, Thomas Marano, Jeffrey Verschleiser, Michael Nierenberg and Jeffrey Mayer, have been accused of making false statements in disclosures to federal regulators in a lawsuit brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  They are among dozens of people and companies named in the lawsuit. [Click here for Complaint]

All four denied all the allegations in a 179-page response to the lawsuit.

The four “deny that the offering documents referenced contained material misstatements of fact or omissions of material facts,” according to the answer jointly filed by the Bear Stearns companies and the individual defendants from Bear.”

This is the guy who is going to vouch for the loan files? Yes, because his disclosures in the 10-Q state he is required to make these reps and warranties to appease his financing facilities, even though ultimately, the reps and warranties could be deemed inaccurate.

Per the 10-Q:

“Our borrowings collateralized by loans require that we make certain representations and warranties that, if determined to be inaccurate, could require us to repurchase loans or cover losses.

Our financing facilities require us to make certain representations and warranties regarding the loans that collateralize the borrowings. Although we perform due diligence on the loans that we acquire, certain representations and warranties that we make in respect of such loans may ultimately be determined to be inaccurate. In the event of a breach of a representation or warranty, we may be required to repurchase affected loans, make indemnification payments to certain indemnified parties or address any claims associated with such breach. Further, we may have limited or no recourse against the seller from whom we purchased the loans. Such recourse may be limited due to a variety of factors, including the absence of a representation or warranty from the seller corresponding to the representation provided by us or the contractual expiration thereof.”

Does anyone really believe that NRZ would repurchase these “hot potatoes” or cover losses on them? Time to call in the “fixer.”

So, here we have admission number five. NRZ will be making representations and warranties regarding loans it purchased from Sellers, who may not have had any documentation of the loans it was selling to NRZ.

This sounds like a “Fencing Operation.”

“A fence or receiver is an individual who knowingly buys stolen property for later resale, sometimes in a legitimate market. The fence thus acts as a middleman between thieves and the eventual buyers of stolen goods who may not be aware that the goods are stolen.”

So, where did NRZ buy this assigned loan, as well as all the others? Again, per the 10-Q:

“Representations and warranties made by us in our loan sale agreements may subject us to liability.

In March 2015, HLSS sold reperforming loans to an unrelated third party and transferred mortgages into a trust in exchange for cash. [THIRD-PARTY WHO? WHAT TRUST?] We may be liable to purchasers under the related sale agreement for any breaches of representations and warranties made by HLSS at the time the applicable loans are sold. Such representations and warranties may include, but are not limited to, issues such as the validity of the lien; the absence of delinquent taxes or other liens; the loans compliance with all local, state and federal laws and the delivery of all documents required to perfect title to the lien. If the purchaser is successful in asserting their claim for recourse, it could adversely affect the availability of financing under loan financing facilities or otherwise adversely impact our results of operations and liquidity. From time to time we sell residential mortgage loans pursuant to loan sale agreements. The risks describe in this paragraph relate to any such sale as well.”

Ah yes, HLSS and Bill Erbey. Need I say more?

(www.thedealnewsroom.tumblr.com/post/…/fortress-exploited-a-cayman-islands-loophole-)

“HLSS struck the deal under severe pressure from regulators, lenders, investors, and ratings agencies. A Dec. 19 settlement between Ocwen and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) had upset a delicate ecosystem of five interrelated companies including Ocwen, HLSS, Altisource Portfolio Solutions (ASPS), Altisource Residential (RESI) and Altisource Asset Management (AAMC) Bill Erbey, Chairman and de facto leader of all five companies, was forced to resign from those positions. The California Department of Business Oversight was threatening to suspend Ocwen’s license in that state. That put pressure on HLSS because its business and Ocwen’s were so closely interrelated.”

This is a cesspool. When it comes to chain of title, it all sounds like a line from SpongeBob Squarepants:

“I knew this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this guy’s COUSIN….”

One thing is crystal clear from all of this. The chain of title is so corrupted and fatally defective for these loans that it would be virtually impossible to legally prove ownership in a foreclosure action without first calling in a “fixer” such as Visionet Systems, Inc. to create the illusionary paper trail.

It is also crystal clear that at least 1 out of every 10 foreclosures being brought by the servicer for “New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2015-1” will contain counterfeit documents, to which there will be a servicer witness raising his/her right hand, and swearing that this trust owns the loan and holds the “Original Note.”

 

Bill Paatalo – Private Investigator – OR PSID#49411

Bill.bpia@gmail.com

 

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Deutsch and Goldman Lose Bid to Dismiss FHFA Lawsuit for Fraud

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Neil Garfield

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Administrative Process May Provide a Lift to Borrowers

Editor’s Comment: Following on the heals of a similar ruling against JPMorgan Chase, Judge Denise Cote, denied the motion to dismiss the lawsuit of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that overseas Fannie and Freddie.

Simply put the agency is charging the investment banks with intentionally misrepresenting the underwriting standards that were in use during the mortgage meltdown. To put it more simply, the fraud we know that occurred at ground zero (the “closing” table) is being traced up the line to the banks that were pulling the strings and causing the fraud.

The allegations of course are insufficient in and of themselves to use as proof of anything. They are unproven allegations in a civil court suit in Federal Court in Manhattan. BUT there is an interesting argument to be made here that should not be ignored. I did a lot of work in administrative law when I was practicing full-time.

The procedure that any agency follows in filing such a lawsuit is something that should be pointed out when you are making arguments about fraud in the origination or assignments of loans.

In order for an agency to file suit, there must be a “finding” that the facts alleged in the complaint are true. In order for that to happen there must be an investigation and it must be brought before a committee or board for a finding of probable cause.

Normally the finding of probable cause would result in an administrative action brought before a hearing officer that would result in either acquittal of the offending suspect (respondent) or fines, penalties or even revocation of their right to do business with the agency or under the auspices of the agency.

Here the action is brought in civil court which must mean that the findings were strong enough to go beyond probable cause to establish in the findings of the agency that these violations did occur beyond a reasonable doubt. Hence, it could be argued, given the structure and process of administrative actions, that the investment banks have already been found by administrative agencies to be fraudulent.

Then you go to the facts alleged and see what those facts were (see article on JPMorgan denial of dismissal for copy of the complaint). Where there are similarities, you can allege the same thing and apply it to the origination of the loan and the so-called assignments and claims of securitization. AND you can say that there has already been an administrative finding that the fraud occurred, which is persuasive authority at a minimum.

In these cases the investment banks are accused of intentionally lying about the underwriting standards used in origination of the loans — something we have been saying here for  years.

That means it was no mistake that they failed to put the name of the real payee on the note and mortgage and it was no mistake that they failed to reference the REMIC or the pooling and servicing agreement which set the terms of repayment, sometimes in direct contradiction to the terms expressed in the note that they induced the borrower to sign. The information was intentionally withheld from the borrower and promptly used with Fannie and Freddie knowing ti was false, as to verifications of value, income viability etc. (see previous post).

In essence the FHFA is saying the same thing that the investors are saying, which is the same thing that the borrowers are saying — these origination documents are worthless scraps of paper replete with deficiencies, lies and misrepresentations, unsupported by consideration and unenforceable.

The defense of the investment banks is that they HAVE been enforcing the notes and mortgages (Deeds of trust). They are saying that since the courts have let most of the cases go to foreclosure, the documents must be valid and enforceable. If improper underwriting standards had been used, or more properly stated, if underwriting standards were ignored, then the borrower would have had a right to rescission, which the courts have largely rejected. It is circular reasoning but it works, for the most part when it is a single homeowner against a big bank.

But when it is institution against institution its not so easy to pull the wool over the judge’s eyes. AND unlike the borrowers, the FHFA is not plagued with guilt over whether they were stupid to begin with and therefore deserve the punishment of taking the largest loss of their lives.

The answer to that is that the banks were only able to “enforce” as a result of the ignorance of the judges, lawyers and borrowers as to the truth behind the facts of each loan origination, assignment etc.

By Jonathan Stempel, Reuters

A U.S. judge rejected bids by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) to dismiss a federal regulator’s lawsuits accusing them of misleading Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) into buying billions of dollars of risky mortgage debt.

In separate decisions on Monday, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan said the Federal Housing Finance Agency may pursue fraud claims over some of the banks’ representations in offering materials regarding mortgage underwriting standards.

The FHFA had sued over certificates that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, known as government-sponsored enterprises, had bought between September 2005 and October 2007.

Goldman underwrote about $11.1 billion of the certificates, and Deutsche Bank roughly $14.2 billion, the regulator has said.

Michael DuVally, a Goldman spokesman, declined to comment, as did Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Renee Calabro. Trials in both cases are scheduled to begin in September 2014.

Last year, the FHFA filed 18 lawsuits against banks and finance companies over mortgage losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on roughly $200 billion of securities.

Cote handles 16 of the lawsuits, and previously refused to dismiss its cases against Bank of America Corp’s (BAC.N) Merrill Lynch unit, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and UBS AG (UBSN.VX).

In her Deutsche Bank ruling, the judge said that while the offering materials said representations were “preliminary” and “subject to change,” their use suggested that the German bank “fully intended the GSEs to rely on” them.

Meanwhile, Cote rejected what she called Goldman’s “legally dubious” claim not to be liable over prospectus supplements it did not write, saying “it is difficult to square with the fact that the bank’s name is prominently displayed on each.”

She dismissed some claims over representations concerning owner-occupied homes and loan values.

The FHFA became the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after federal regulators seized the mortgage financiers on September 7, 2008.

In May, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $202.3 million in a separate federal probe, in which its MortgageIT unit admitted it had lied to the U.S. government over whether its loans were eligible for federal mortgage insurance.

Cote said it is too soon to decide liability over MortgageIT activity that predated its 2007 takeover by Deutsche Bank.

The cases are Federal Housing Finance Agency v. Deutsche Bank AG et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-06192; and Federal Housing Finance Agency v. Goldman Sachs & Co et al in the same court, No. 11-06198.

(Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by John Wallace, Tim Dobbyn and M.D. Golan)

Filed under: bubble, CDO, CORRUPTION, currency, Eviction, foreclosure, GTC | Honor, Investor, Mortgage, securities fraud | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments »

Realtors Complaining About Lack of Financing on REO Resales

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Neil Garfield

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Truth triumphs in the Marketplace:                                         Buyers and bankers have no confidence that prices are not going lower, and Title Corruption Taints the Deals

Editor’s Comment:

Realtors are on the wrong side of this issue. THEY should have led the way to correcting the problems and defects in the foundation of the housing market — pricing and title. Instead they put blinders on and pushed through whatever sales they could — REO sales, short sales, anything to make a buck. Now it is coming back and hitting them on the back of the head.

Sales are slowing because financing is getting harder and the message is out. The values of the homes are lower than the prices and the title chain is often corrupted leaving a prospective buyer or lender in a position of accepting a risk that didn’t exist before securitization. This isn’t the fault of realtors so don’t go blaming them for creating the securitization PONZI scheme. But they are at fault for not looking for a way to fix it. After all, it is THEIR industry.

Financing Needed to Boost REO Sales

by Carla Hill

Buyer, sellers, and real estate professionals alike are finding that today’s market is still experiencing a glut of distressed properties.

These properties hit the market each day in the form of REOs. This steady influx of properties is in addtion to the high number of short sales seen across the nation.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) there are certain steps that lenders and the government need to take in order for this oversupply to reduce and for the market to return to a more normal balance.

The current market sees around one third of all sales coming from distressed properties. These housing units carry a smaller price tag than the competition, but a steeper price in terms of the value of the overall market. Distressed properties sell at steep discounts, sometimes at almost half of what a non-distressed property is listed. This causes the overall market value of a neighborhood or community to drop, ending up with more and more sellers finding themselves upside down in their loans.

NAR President Ron Phipps has said that a lack of mortgage financing is hurting REO sales and the entire housing market. They report that “the lack of private capital in the mortgage market, unduly tight underwriting standards, and increasing fees have discouraged many potential home buyers from applying for mortgages. NAR believes ensuring mortgage availability for qualified home buyers and investors will help absorb the excess REO inventory.”

“We believe the government has an opportunity to minimize the impact of distressed properties on local markets by expanding financing opportunities, bolstering loan modifications and short sales efforts, and enhancing the efficient disposition of REO properties. This will help stabilize home prices and neighborhoods and help support the broader economic recovery.”

NAR has also said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury that steps must be taken in order to stop the steady stream of new REO properties that is currently hitting the market. Homeowners need help to either stay in their homes or to make short sales before their home is put into foreclosure, something that helps their credit scores and the market.

“Loan modifications keep families in their home and reduce defaults, while short sales keep homes occupied, helping stabilize neighborhoods and home values,” Phipps said. “Expanding resources and ensuring the use of already allocated funds for pre-foreclosure efforts is the best opportunity to reduce taxpayer costs and creates more positive outcomes for homeowners and their communities.”

As the election year heats up we expect to hear more about what candidates propose to do about the continued struggle the housing market faces as well as how to keep American homeowners in their homes

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Filed under: bubble, CDO, CORRUPTION, currency, Eviction, foreclosure, GTC | Honor, Investor, Mortgage, securities fraud | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 62 Comments »

EFFECTIVE USE OF WHAT THE MORTGAGE GIANTS SAY ABOUT EACH OTHER

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Neil Garfield

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COMBO Title and Securitization Search, Report, Documents, Analysis & Commentary CLICK HERE TO GET COMBO TITLE AND SECURITIZATION REPORT

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) filed suit against 17 lead defendants. Lawyers and pro se litigants and anyone with a mortgage subject to a possible claim that the loan was securitized should be interested and follow the allegations AND the wrangling over discovery. There are forms in there that can and should be used by litigants. When counsel for pretender lenders proffers facts not in evidence then your objection should be coupled with “that’s not what they said when they were litigating with FHFA.” And then quote what they DID say in writing versus the oral proffers of counsel who can later say he was “mistaken.”
Complaints have been filed against the following lead defendants:

  1. Ally Financial Inc. f/k/a GMAC, LLC
  2. Bank of America Corporation
  3. Barclays Bank PLC
  4. Citigroup, Inc.
  5. Countrywide Financial Corporation
  6. Credit Suisse Holdings (USA), Inc.
  7. Deutsche Bank AG
  8. First Horizon National Corporation
  9. General Electric Company
  10. Goldman Sachs & Co.
  11. HSBC North America Holdings, Inc.
  12. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  13. Merrill Lynch & Co. / First Franklin Financial Corp.
  14. Morgan Stanley
  15. Nomura Holding America Inc.
  16. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC
  17. Société Générale

The following Reports to the Congress from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) present the findings of the agency’s annual examinations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Enterprises), the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks), and the Office of Finance. This report meets the statutory requirements of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA).  The views in this report are those of FHFA and do not necessarily represent those of the President.

To request hard copies of FHFA Reports to Congress, contact: FHFA’s Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications
Phone: (202) 414-6922 or send e-mail to:   FHFAinfo@FHFA.gov

 

Filed under: bubble, CDO, CORRUPTION, currency, Eviction, foreclosure, GTC | Honor, Investor, Mortgage, securities fraud | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

MERS: A FAILED ATTEMPT AT BYPASSING STATE AND FEDERAL AUTHORITY

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Neil Garfield

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Fannie-Freddie’s Hypocritical Suit Against Banks Making Loans that GSEs Helped Create

Fannie-Freddie’s Hypocritical Suit Against Banks Making Loans that GSEs Helped Create

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Practically everything that the government is doing with respect to the economy and the housing market in particular is hypocritical. If we look to the result to determine the intent of the government you can see why nothing is being done to improve DOMESTIC market conditions. By removing the American consumer from the marketplace (through elimination of available funds in equity, savings or credit) the economic prospects for virtually every marketplace in the world is correspondingly diminished. The downward pressure on economic performance worldwide creates a panic regarding debt and currency. By default (and partially because of the military strength of the United States) people are ironically finding the dollar to be the safest haven during a bad storm.

 The result is that the federal government is able to borrow funds at interest rates that are so low that the investor is guaranteed to lose money after adjusting for inflation. The climate that has been created is one in which investors are far more concerned with preservation of capital than return on capital. In a nutshell, this is why the credit markets are virtually frozen with respect to the average potential consumer, the average small business owner, and the average entrepreneur or innovator who would otherwise start a new business and fuel rising employment.

 While it is true that the lawsuits by Fannie and Freddie are appropriate regardless of their past hypocritical behavior, they are really only rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Ultimately there must be a resolution to our current economic problems that is based in reality rather than the power to manipulate events. The scenario we all seek  would cleanup the rising title crisis, end the foreclosure crisis, and restore a true marketplace in the purchase and sale of real estate. We have all known for decades that the housing market drives the economy.

 There is obviously very little confidence that the government and market makers in the United States are going to seek any resolution based in reality. Therefore while investors are parking their money in dollars they are also driving up the price of gold and finding other innovative ways to preserve their wealth. As these innovations evolve it is almost certain that an alternative to the United States dollar will emerge. The driving force behind this innovation is the stagnation of the credit markets and the world marketplace. My opinion is that the United States is pursuing a policy that virtually guarantees the creation of a new world reserve currency.

 The creation of MERS was a private attempt to substitute private business plans for public laws. It didn’t work. The lawsuits by the government-sponsored entities together with lawsuits from investors who were duped into being lenders and homeowners who were duped into being borrowers in a rigged market are only going to result in money judgments and money settlements. With a nominal value of credit derivatives at over $600 trillion and the actual money supply at under $50 trillion there is literally not enough money in the world to fix this problem. The problem can only be fixed by recognizing and applying existing law to existing transactions.

 This means that MERS, already discredited, must be treated as a nonexistent entity in the world of real estate transactions. Nobody wants to do that because the failure to disclose an actual creditor on the face of a purported lean or encumbrance on land is a fatal defect in perfecting the lien. This is true throughout the country and it is obvious to anyone who has studied real property transactions and mortgages. If you don’t have the name and address of the creditor from whom you can obtain a satisfaction of mortgage, then you don’t have a mortgage that attaches to the land as a lien. It is this realization that is forming a number of lawsuits from the investors who advanced money for mortgage bonds. Those advances were the funds that were used to finance pornographic Wall Street profits with the balance used to fund absurd mortgage products.

 This is basic property law and public policy. There can be no confidence or consistency in the marketplace without a buyer or a lender knowing that they can rely upon the information contained in a government title Registry at the county recording office. Any other method requires them to take the word of someone without the authority of the government. This is a fact and it is the law. But the banks are successfully using politics to sidestep the basic essential elements of law. Under their theory the fact that the mortgage lien was never perfected would be ignored so that bank and non-bank institutions could become the largest landholders in the country without ever having spent a dime on loaning any money or purchasing the receivables. Politics is trumping law.

 The narrative and the debate are being absolutely controlled by Wall Street interests. We say we don’t like what the banks did and many say they don’t like banks at all. But it is also true that the same people who say they don’t like banks are willing to let the banks keep their windfall and make even more money at the expense of the taxpayer, the consumer and the homeowner. There are trillions of dollars available for investment in business expansion, government projects, and good old American innovation to drive a healthy economy. It won’t happen until we begin to drive the debate ourselves and force government and banking to conform to rules and laws that have been in existence for centuries.

from STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD…………….

Lets NOT forget both Fannie and Freddie, like most of the named banks they are suing, each are shareholders of MERS.

Again, who gave the green light to eliminate the need for assignments and to realize the greatest savings, lenders should close loans using standard security instruments containing “MOM” language back in April 26, 1999?

This was approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which named MERS as Original Mortgagee (MOM)!

Open Market-

“U.S. is set to sue dozen big banks over mortgages,” reads the front-page headline in today’s New York Times. The “deck” below the headline explains that that the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is “seen as arguing that lenders lacked due diligence” in the loans they made.

A more apt description would probably be that Fannie and Freddie are suing the banks for selling them the very loans the GSEs helped designed and that government mandates encourage — and are still encouraging them to make. These conflicted actions are just one more of the government’s contributions to the uncertainty that is helping to keep unemployment at 9 percent.

Strangely the author of the Times piece, Nelson Schwartz, ignores the findings of a recent blockbuster

…

[OPEN MARKET]

Filed under: bubble, CDO, CORRUPTION, currency, Eviction, foreclosure, GTC | Honor, Investor, Mortgage, securities fraud | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments »

Window Dressing: File a Lawsuit — Maybe It will Improve the View

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Neil Garfield

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EDITOR’S COMMENT: YAWN! The government keeps filing lawsuits that COULD be big and COULD cause make corrections in the marketplace to reflect reality. But then they go nowhere, with discovery stymied by the Banks and then a settlement on the table that sells out everyone except the half dozen big banks that we allow to control the market, courtesy of our taxpayer money and our refusal to apply the same rules to them we do to the 7,000 other community banks and credit unions who could do the same or better job at handling the country’s finance sector.

Don’t get fooled. When someone comes out and says that securitization was an illusion, a ruse to defraud as many people in world population as possible, TEN we will have addressed the problem. When that special someone is willing to consider the idea that the banks never actually lost money and never needed a bailout, but that the top management diverted pornographic profits to off-shore havens then we will be on track to recapture the nation’s wealth, which currently is held hostage by Wall Street banks and the great majority of those in government who depend upon the mega banks for their political campaign expenses.

In the meanwhile, the lawsuits should be watched because deep inside each suit are some additional allegations, indicating the results of administrative investigations that you can use. When we get serious, the lawsuits will come fast and furious and aggressively pursued. Until then, all thee actions amount to little more than window dressing.

U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages

By

The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter.

The suits stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. If the case is not filed Friday, they said, it will come Tuesday, shortly before a deadline expires for the housing agency to file claims.

The suits will argue the banks, which assembled the mortgages and marketed them as securities to investors, failed to perform the due diligence required under securities law and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. When many borrowers were unable to pay their mortgages, the securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value.

Fannie and Freddie lost more than $30 billion, in part as a result of the deals, losses that were borne mostly by taxpayers.

In July, the agency filed suit against UBS, another major mortgage securitizer, seeking to recover at least $900 million, and the individuals with knowledge of the case said the new litigation would be similar in scope.

Private holders of mortgage securities are already trying to force the big banks to buy back tens of billions in soured mortgage-backed bonds, but this federal effort is a new chapter in a huge legal fight that has alarmed investors in bank shares. In this case, rather than demanding that the banks buy back the original loans, the finance agency is seeking reimbursement for losses on the securities held by Fannie and Freddie.

The impending litigation underscores how almost exactly three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the beginning of a financial crisis caused in large part by subprime lending, the legal fallout is mounting.

Besides the angry investors, 50 state attorneys general are in the final stages of negotiating a settlement to address abuses by the largest mortgage servicers, including Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citigroup. The attorneys general, as well as federal officials, are pressing the banks to pay at least $20 billion in that case, with much of the money earmarked to reduce mortgages of homeowners facing foreclosure.

And last month, the insurance giant American International Group filed a $10 billion suit against Bank of America, accusing the bank and its Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch units of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages that backed the securities A.I.G. bought.

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan all declined to comment. Frank Kelly, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, said, “We can’t comment on a suit that we haven’t seen and hasn’t been filed yet.”

But privately, financial service industry executives argue that the losses on the mortgage-backed securities were caused by a broader downturn in the economy and the housing market, not by how the mortgages were originated or packaged into securities. In addition, they contend that investors like A.I.G. as well as Fannie and Freddie were sophisticated and knew the securities were not without risk.

Investors fear that if banks are forced to pay out billions of dollars for mortgages that later defaulted, it could sap earnings for years and contribute to further losses across the financial services industry, which has only recently regained its footing.

Bank officials also counter that further legal attacks on them will only delay the recovery in the housing market, which remains moribund, hurting the broader economy. Other experts warned that a series of adverse settlements costing the banks billions raises other risks, even if suits have legal merit.

The housing finance agency was created in 2008 and assigned to oversee the hemorrhaging government-backed mortgage companies, a process known as conservatorship.

“While I believe that F.H.F.A. is acting responsibly in its role as conservator, I am afraid that we risk pushing these guys off of a cliff and we’re going to have to bail out the banks again,” said Tim Rood, who worked at Fannie Mae until 2006 and is now a partner at the Collingwood Group, which advises banks and servicers on housing-related issues.

The suits are being filed now because regulators are concerned that it will be much harder to make claims after a three-year statute of limitations expires on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

While the banks put together tens of billions of dollars in mortgage securities backed by risky loans, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is not seeking the total amount in compensation because some of the mortgages are still good and the investments still carry some value. In the UBS suit, the agency said it owned $4.5 billion worth of mortgages, with losses totaling $900 million. Negotiations between the agency and UBS have yielded little progress.

The two mortgage giants acquired the securities in the years before the housing market collapsed as they expanded rapidly and looked for new investments that were seemingly safe. At issue in this case are so-called private-label securities that were backed by subprime and other risky loans but were rated as safe AAA investments by the ratings agencies.

In the years before 2007, “the market was so frothy then it was hard to find good quality loans to securitize and hold in your portfolio,” said David Felt, a lawyer who served as deputy general counsel of the finance agency until January 2010. “Fannie and Freddie thought they were taking AAA tranches, and like so many investors, they were surprised when they didn’t turn out to be such quality investments.”

Fannie and Freddie had other reasons to buy the securities, Mr. Rood added. For starters, they carried higher yields at a time when the two mortgage giants could buy them using money borrowed at rock-bottom rates, thanks to the implicit federal guarantee they enjoyed.

In addition, by law Fannie and Freddie were required to back loans to low-to-moderate income and minority borrowers, and the private-label securities were counted toward those goals.

“Competitive pressures and onerous housing goals compelled them to operate more like hedge funds than government-sponsored guarantors, ” Mr. Rood said.

In fact, Freddie was warned by regulators in 2006 that its purchases of subprime securities had outpaced its risk management abilities, but the company continued to load up on debt that ultimately soured.

As of June 30, Freddie Mac holds more than $80 billion in mortgage securities backed by more shaky home loans like subprime mortgages, Option ARM and Alt-A loans. Freddie estimates its total gross losses stand at roughly $19 billion. Fannie Mae holds $38 billion of securities backed by Alt-A and subprime loans, with losses standing at nearly $14 billion.

Filed under: bubble, CDO, CORRUPTION, currency, Eviction, foreclosure, GTC | Honor, Investor, Mortgage, securities fraud | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments »

ALL MAJOR FINANCIAL FEDERAL AGENCIES ENTER CEASE AND DESIST ORDER AGAINST MERS

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Neil Garfield

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ALL MAJOR FEDERAL AGENCIES JOIN IN ORDERING MERS TO STOP CURRENT PRACTICES

Just released. Thanks to Dan Edstrom our senior securitization analyst for alerting me.

SEE MERS_Cease_and_Desist_2011_04_13

MERS AND MERSCORP ENTERED INTO A CONSENT CEASE AND DESIST ORDER FINDING DEFICIENCIES IN THE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES THAT POSE A RISK TO THE MEMBER BANKS.

ABSTRACT OF ORDER

The Agencies find, and MERS and MERSCORP neither admit nor deny, the following:
(1)    MERS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MERSCORP. MERSCORP’s shareholders include federally regulated financial institutions that own and/or service residential mortgages, including Examined Members, and other primary and secondary mortgage industry participants.
(2)    MERSCORP operates a national electronic registry that tracks beneficial ownership interests and servicing rights associated with residential mortgage loans and any changes in those interests or rights. There are approximately 5,000 participating Members, of which 3,000 are residential mortgage servicers. Members register loans and report transfers, foreclosures, and other changes to the status of residential mortgage loans on the MERS System. There are currently approximately 31 million active residential mortgage loans registered on the MERS System. Examined Members receive a substantial portion of the services provided by MERSCORP and MERS.
(3)    MERS serves as mortgagee of record and nominee for the participating Members in local land records. MERS takes action as mortgagee through documents executed by “certifying officers” of MERS. MERS has designated these individuals, who are officers or employees of Members or certain third-parties who have contractual relationships with Members, as officers of MERS. By virtue of these designations, the certifying officers execute legal documents in the name of MERS, such as mortgage assignments and lien releases.
MERS Consent Order
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(4)    In connection with services provided to Examined Members related to tracking, and registering residential mortgage loans and initiating foreclosures (“residential mortgage and foreclosure-related services”), MERS and MERSCORP:
(a)    have failed to exercise appropriate oversight, management supervision and corporate governance, and have failed to devote adequate financial, staffing, training, and legal resources to ensure proper administration and delivery of services to Examined Members; and
(b)    have failed to establish and maintain adequate internal controls, policies, and procedures, compliance risk management, and internal audit and reporting requirements with respect to the administration and delivery of services to Examined Members.
(5)    By reason of the conduct set forth above, MERS and MERSCORP engaged in unsafe or unsound practices that expose them and Examined Members to unacceptable operational, compliance, legal, and reputational risks.
Pursuant to the authority vested in them by the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended, 12 U.S.C. §§ 1818(b), the Bank Service Company Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1867(c)-(d), and the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act, 12 U.S.C. § 4631, the Agencies hereby ORDER that:
ARTICLE III COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE
(1)    Within twenty (20) days of this Order, the Boards of Directors of MERSCORP and MERS (the “Boards”) shall each establish and thereafter maintain a Compliance Committee of at least three (3) directors, of which at least two (2) may not be employees or officers of MERS or MERSCORP or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. In the event of a change of the
MERS Consent Order
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membership, the name of any new committee member shall be submitted to the OCC Deputy Comptroller for Large Bank Supervision (“Deputy Comptroller”). The Compliance Committee shall be responsible for monitoring and coordinating MERS’ and MERSCORP’s compliance with the terms and provisions of this Order. The Compliance Committee shall meet at least monthly and maintain minutes of its meetings.
(2)    Within ninety (90) days of this Order, and within thirty (30) days of the end of each calendar quarter thereafter, the Compliance Committee shall submit a written progress report to the Boards setting forth in detail its actions taken to comply with each Article of this Consent Order, and the results and status of those actions.
(3)    The Boards shall forward a copy of the Compliance Committee’s report, with any additional comments by the Boards, to the Deputy Comptroller and the OCC Examiner-in- Charge within ten (10) days of receiving such report.
ARTICLE IV ACTION PLAN
(1)    Within ninety (90) days of this Order, MERS and MERSCORP shall jointly develop and submit to the Deputy Comptroller an acceptable plan containing a complete description of the actions that are necessary and appropriate to achieve compliance with the terms and provisions of this Order (“Action Plan”), as well as the resources to be devoted to the planned actions, with respect to services provided to Examined Members. In the event the Deputy Comptroller requests MERS or MERSCORP to revise the Action Plan, they shall immediately make the requested revisions and resubmit the Action Plan to the Deputy Comptroller. Following acceptance of the Action Plan by the Deputy Comptroller, MERS and
MERS Consent Order
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MERSCORP shall not take any action that would constitute a significant deviation from, or material change to the requirements of the Action Plan, or this Order, unless and until MERS or MERSCORP have received a prior written determination of no supervisory objection from the Deputy Comptroller.
(2)    The Boards shall ensure that MERS and MERSCORP achieve and thereafter maintain compliance with this Order, including, without limitation, successful implementation of the Action Plan. The Boards shall further ensure that, upon implementation of the Action Plan, MERS and MERSCORP achieve and maintain effective residential mortgage and foreclosure- related services on behalf of Examined Members, as well as associated risk management, compliance, quality control, audit, training, staffing, and related functions. In order to comply with these requirements, the Boards shall:
(a)    require the timely reporting by MERS and MERSCORP management of such actions taken to comply with this Order and/or directed by either Board to be taken pursuant to this Order;
(b)    follow-up on any compliance issues with such actions in a timely and appropriate manner; and
(c)    require corrective action be taken in a timely manner for any non- compliance with such actions.
(3)    The Action Plan shall address, at a minimum: (a)    the capability of the Boards and senior management to ensure that MERS
and MERSCORP are operated in a safe and sound manner in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and requirements of this Order;
MERS Consent Order
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(b)    development and implementation of a strategic plan to include a comprehensive review of business operations, including the risks associated with each business line, and recommendations to implement the strategic plan;
(c)    consistent with the strategic plan, development and implementation of a financial plan to ensure that MERSCORP and MERS have adequate financial strength to support business operations related to Examined Members. The financial plan, at a minimum, shall address:
capital;
and liquidity risk; and
(i)
(ii)
any need for additional capital, including the amount and source of
the identification, measurement, monitoring and control of funding
(iii) discretionary expenses and improve and sustain earnings, as well as maintain adequate reserves for contingency risks and liabilities;
(d)    development and implementation of a comprehensive litigation strategy to effectively manage lawsuits and legal challenges involving MERS and MERSCORP, regardless of whether MERSCORP or MERS is a named party, including early identification and tracking of such lawsuits and challenges;
(e)    development and implementation of a communication plan to communicate effectively and in a timely manner with MERSCORP’s shareholders, Members including Examined Members, and relevant external parties;
(f)    development and implementation of a compliance and quality assurance program for ensuring that Examined Members implement and follow all of the Rules, including
MERS Consent Order
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a profit and budget plan to include specific goals to reduce
adherence to the requirements set forth in MERS Announcement 2011-01, dated February 16, 2011;
(g)    development and implementation of a plan to ensure that MERS certifying officers are transitioned expeditiously onto the Corporate Resolution Management System (“CRMS”) in accordance with MERS’ current certifying officer policy and process;
(h)    development and implementation of appropriate standards to maintain separation of corporate functions between MERS and MERSCORP;
(i)    review of the effectiveness of the Rules, and related Procedures, Terms and Conditions to determine what, if any, additions, amendments, or deletions are appropriate;
(j)    development and implementation of enhanced information reporting practices to senior management from lower levels of each organization, and from senior management to the Boards to ensure that significant issues are properly identified and escalated, and that corporate actions are considered, taken in a timely fashion, and properly documented;
(k)    any Matter Requiring Attention in the OCC Supervisory Letter No. MERS 2011-01, dated January 19, 2011, that addresses an issue that is not otherwise covered by provisions of this Order; and
(l)    development of contingency plans to address issues that arise with respect to any of the foregoing elements of the Action Plan, including plans that address operational continuity issues in the normal course of business and in a stressed environment.
(4)    The Action Plan shall specify timelines for completion of each of the requirements of this Order. The timelines in the Action Plan shall be consistent with any deadlines set forth in this Order.

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Subpoenas Withdrawn: Ally (GMAC, owned by USA) to Pay Fannie (owned by USA) $462 Million for “BuyBacks”

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Neil Garfield

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COVER-UP CONTINUES

EDITOR’S COMMENT: Confused? Ally, wholly owed by GMAC, which is 80% owed by our Federal government has agreed to pay $462 MILLION on “repurchase demands” (i.e. legal damages) to Fannie Mae (FNMA, wholly owned by our Federal Government) for losses attributable to $292 BILLION in “home loans.” There, that settles it. Any questions?

And by the way, those subpoenas that were issued last July, they are withdrawn because of this “settlement.” So any answers to the inside workings of Fannie or the transactions with Ally and “related parties” will forever be buried unless you know enough to subpoena them yourself. Find the subpoenas on the internet and plagiarize them to your heart’s content, there being no copyright protection on legal filings.

Are they kidding? That payment is 2 tenths of 1% of the home loans. Are we to suppose that those loans were 99.8% “OK”? SO here is a very good example why both lawyers and homeowners need litigation support in the form of analysis of title and securitization. Otherwise you are up against representations from the Federal government that ring with a presumption of truth instead of stinking with the mess of a lie. Pretender lenders will use it at leisure to smoothly show that your allegations simply have no merit and that you are wasting the court’s time on a  foreclosure that is right and justified and should not wait because creditors have a right to protection in the courts from unscrupulous homeowners who are out to undermine the system. Most judges WANT to believe that anyway because it seems like the fastest way to clean out their docket.

The government has settled with itself. It has taken the trouble to announce the settlement so presumably they are trying to make a point. I think the point is to minimize the financial crisis and hide the scope of crises that have not yet occurred but look like they are virtually assured. Because it isn’t just that all the mortgages are of dubious origin and authenticity, it isn’t just that the notes that are described in the mortgages fail to describe the actual obligation that arose, and it isn’t just that Fannie’s claim of ownership is based upon self-serving proclamations; no, the point here is that the mortgages are very probably unsecured, and the mortgage bonds based upon allegations of ownership of these loans are very probably worthless or nearly so.

Speaking to the traders out there who are not interested in any of the policy issues, some of us know that there is a hedge or bet here that is going to surface and sink this ship once and for all, while you guys make all the money AGAIN. And because nobody is looking, you can probably do so without fear of legal intervention or regulation because the old rules and laws probably exempt you and your trade as not subject to securities laws. At worst they will shut the barn door after the building is completely evacuated of all sign of life. I really can’t blame you for being so cynical. The only people who have a clue about what you are doing are not in any position to do anything about it except write lame duck articles like this one.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

“Ally Financial Inc., the auto and home lender majority-owned by the U.S. government, agreed to pay $462 million to settle repurchase demands from Fannie Mae linked to $292 billion in home loans.”

Bloomberg:

By Hugh Son and Lorraine Woellert – Dec 27, 2010 10:00 PM MT Tue Dec 28 05:00:03 GMT 2010

Ally Financial Inc., the auto and home lender majority-owned by the U.S. government, agreed to pay $462 million to settle repurchase demands from Fannie Mae linked to $292 billion in home loans.

Ally, formerly known as GMAC Inc., said the deal covers loans serviced by GMAC Mortgage unit for Fannie Mae before June 30 and mortgage-backed securities purchased by the Washington- based loan-funding firm. The accord was reached on behalf of Ally’s Residential Capital unit and subsidiaries, the Detroit- based company said yesterday in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Carpenter is seeking to resolve claims tied to faulty mortgages as he prepares Ally for a public offering to repay U.S. bailout funds. Mortgage lenders typically promise to buy back loans sold to investors or cover losses if information about the borrowers or property later proves to be incorrect.

“At the start of 2010, we set a goal to substantially reduce risk in our mortgage operation,” Carpenter, 63, said in the statement. “We have successfully completed a series of steps toward that objective and are largely complete.”

The government took an almost 80 percent stake in Fannie Mae after it seized the firm in 2008.

Ally had settled buyback claims with six counterparties, the largest being government-owned finance company Freddie Mac, according to a November presentation. It agreed in May to make a one-time payment to Freddie Mac, without disclosing the amount.

Ally’s Reserves

Ally increased reserves for buybacks to $1.1 billion in the third quarter, from $855 million in the prior period. The original unpaid principal on loans involved in the Fannie Mae settlement announced yesterday was $292 billion, a figure that narrowed to $84 billion, Ally said.

Chris Katopis, executive director of the Association of Mortgage Investors, said his members are worried the Ally settlement might be too low.

The deal “may set a harmful precedent for mortgage investors and the public,” Katopis said in an interview. The Washington-based trade association represents state pension funds and other investors in mortgage-backed securities.

The agreement “modestly” exceeds prior reserves, Ally said. ResCap and Fannie Mae also reached an accord regarding ResCap’s payment of mortgage-insurance proceeds where coverage is rescinded or canceled.

“ResCap does not expect this exposure to be material,” Ally said.

Subpoenas Issued

In July, Fannie Mae’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said it issued subpoenas for documents related to private-label mortgage-backed securities in which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had invested. The agency, under pressure from lawmakers to stem losses to the two companies, is trying to determine whether misrepresentations or omissions might require lenders to repurchase failed loans.

The FHFA will withdraw subpoenas to “certain ResCap parties” that relate to Fannie Mae, Ally said today in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. FHFA spokeswoman Stefanie Johnson declined to comment.

With more than $150 billion in taxpayer funds spent on bailing out Fannie Mae and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac, lawmakers are pressing them to shift more of the burden back to the banks that created defective loans.

In an August letter to President Barack Obama, Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who leads the House Financial Services Committee, said the battle to get refunds “should be fought with every tool.”

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Ally Financial Inc. and related entities which addresses our exposure on a portfolio of loans sold to Fannie Mae by GMAC Mortgage or serviced by GMAC Mortgage,” Janis Smith, a spokeswoman for Fannie Mae, said in an e-mailed statement. “The agreement also addresses Fannie Mae’s potential claims for losses on certain private label securities issued by GMAC entities.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Hugh Son in New York at hson1@bloomberg.net; Lorraine Woellert in Washington at lwoellert@bloomberg.net.

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