Post by mgOn Sun, 08 Oct 2017 12:33:16 -0700, El Castor
Post by El CastorPost by rumpelstiltskinOn Sat, 07 Oct 2017 13:06:33 -0700, El Castor
Post by El CastorPost by GaryPost by mgPost by arthur woukhttps://www.thenation.com/article/how-americas-biggest-bank-paid-its-fine-for-the-2008-mortgage-crisis-with-phony-mortgages/
Alleged fraud put JPMorgan Chase hundreds of millions of dollars
ahead; ordinary homeowners, not so much.
--
"One of the worst things about the politics
of the past 30 years`is that the rich have
forgotten to be afraid of the poor"
- Eric Hobsbawm"
Bankers never have been afraid of the poor, but they used to
--------------
"Elizabeth Warren Charges Big Bank CEOs Are Still Not Being
Held Accountable
MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT,
Friday, 16 September 2016 06:34
". . . Elizabeth Warren wants the FBI and Justice Department
to explain why no bankers were prosecuted for the financial
crisis of eight years ago. . . ."
http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/elizabeth-warren-charges-big-banks-are-still-engaging-in-illegal-practices
A Quote --
----------------------------------------------------
A young banker decided to get his first tailor-made suit. As he tried
it on, he reached down to put his hands in the pockets but to his
surprise found none.
He mentioned this to the tailor who asked him, "You're a banker,
right?" The young man answered, "Yes, I am."
"Well, whoever heard of a banker put his hand in his own pocket?"
As a former banker, this thread pisses me off, but here's a true story
you should enjoy. Back in the day, before my time, banks in California
were exempt from the annual license registration fee for their fleet
of company cars. The numbers on the plates began with the letters "PS"
which stood for "Public Service". (-8
Anyhow, don't like banks? Keep your money under the mattress.
I think there are two different kinds of banks that people
often talk about now days. The first type consists of
ordinary banks and the second type are the "Shadow Banks"
that have been blamed for causing the Great Recession. So,
when Elizabeth Warren asked the Obama Administration why
there were no prosecutions, for instance, she was obviously
talking about the Shadow Banks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banking_system
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Recession#Shadow_banking_system
The "Great Recession" was caused by left wing inspired sub-prime
lending that made it possible to buy real estate with close to nothing
down. When real estate prices dropped well below the break-even point,
sub-prime borrowers found it foolish to continue paying $300,000 for a
house worth $225,000 -- and walked away, leaving the lender (or more
likely, the investor in mortgage loans) holding the bag. The wife and
I financed two purchases through the bank we worked for, were required
to put 20% down, and never missed a payment. And, by the way --
sub-prime mortgages are back.
"Do 100% loans exist in 2017? You bet they do. And theres a good
chance that you qualify."
"Many new homebuyers wonder why most types of loans require a down
payment. Why cant the bank just finance 100% of the homes purchase
price? It all comes down to the fact that the bank, lender, or
investor wants to be paid back. After many studies, banks and lending
institutions have determined that the higher the down payment on a
loan, the lower the chances of the borrower defaulting. In fact, down
payment amount is more important in determining risk than even credit
score."
https://mymortgageinsider.com/100-financing-home-loans-zero-down-mortgage/
I think the people primarily responsible for the Great
Recession were Bill Clinton, George Bush, Alan Greenspan and
the executives of the institutions involved. I think those
executives should have gone to jail and I don't think the
banks should have been bailed out.
Why jail? Fannie and Freddie bought subprime loans at the behest of
their masters -- the politicians. The target of those loans were
Blacks, who for the most part were unable to realize the American
Dream of home ownership because they couldn't come up with 20%, but
once the loans were created they didn't have "Black Only" stamped on
them -- so loan officers couldn't restrict them by race. If you
qualified, you got the loan, and banks made those loans because they
could be sold. Everyone knew that housing was a great investment that
could only increase in value. We are doing the same thing today. Who,
specifically should be arrested?
By the way, since you blamed Bush -- please read this ...
"New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
By STEPHEN LABATONSEPT. 11, 2003
The Bush administration today recommended the most significant
regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings
and loan crisis a decade ago.
Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new
agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume
supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored
companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending
industry.
The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with
Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the
companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business.
And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the
risks of their ballooning portfolios.
The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which together have issued more than
$1.5 trillion in outstanding debt -- is broken. A report by outside
investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its
accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does
not adequately hedge against rising interest rates."
<Snip>
''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing
any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of
Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services
Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more
pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of
affordable housing.''
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html
This effort by Bush was defeated. He tried again in 2006 -- this time
at the Senate level, and lost again. Should Bush go to jail? How about
the Republican (only Republican) senators who signed this letter --
jail for them, too?
""Dear Majority Leader Frist and Chainnan Shelby, We are concerned
that if effective regulatory refonn legislation for the
housing-finance government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) is not enacted
this year, American taxpayers will continue to'be exposed to the
enonnous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing
market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole."
http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/docs/gse_reform_060505.pdf
Who broke what law, and who should go to jail?