robo-signing

Goldman Sachs' mortgage subsidiary agreed Thursday to stop many of its controversial mortgage-related practices in a settlement with a New York state banking regulator. The New York's Department of Financial Services and Banking Department said the settlement was a condition to Goldman Sachs Group...

HSBC got plenty of attention when it disclosed that it had suspended foreclosures in its annual report Monday. But its not the only bank whose annual report made for interesting reading. The risk disclosures in banks' annual reports shed some light on their attitudes toward the mortgage mess.

The state's highest court affirmed the fundamental and long-established idea that a bank must own the mortgage it's foreclosing on before it forecloses. The ruling pertained to Wells Fargo and US Bancorp, but investors are hammering all bank financial stocks in reaction.

Judges in several states are emerging as defenders of due process and the rule of law when confronted with the banks' rampant use of false foreclosure paperwork. Alas, that's not so true in Florida, where a foreclosure can be heard in seconds.

Linda Almonte, a former employee of JPMorgan Chase who is suing the bank for wrongful termination, has upped the ante by filing a whistleblower complaint with the SEC. She's alleging grotesque and illegal practices with Chase credit card accounts.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn denied Wells Fargo's request for permission to foreclose on Tandala Mims's house in the Bronx for a second time on Thursday because he still wasn't satisfied that Wells -- as opposed to some other bank -- had the right to do so.

Most people raising the issue of false mortgage documents are homeowners facing foreclosure. And banks often respond that botched paperwork is a mere technicality -- nothing to worry about. Then you find a case like Wells Fargo's attempt to foreclose on Tandala Mims of New York.

Home sales tumbled this summer, and foreclosed properties bore the brunt of the pain. Sales of foreclosed homes plunged 31% from the year-ago period -- and 25% from the previous quarter. Prices for these properties also fell more than other homes.

Bank of America challenges testimony by one of its operational leaders -- that Countrywide may have held on to homeowners' notes that it should have put into a trust. But the testimony is reinforcing fears that BofA is in big trouble.

Fallout from the ongoing "robo-signing" foreclosure scandal may cost major banks billions, shake the foundations of the fragile housing market and threaten the stability of the U.S. economy, warns a new report from a congressional watchdog. The Congressional Oversight Panel's November report,...