The U.S. government is expected to file civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging that it improperly gave high ratings to mortgage debt that later plunged in value and helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis.
As multiple lawsuits and SEC actions progress in relation to the nation's mortgage mess, it's becoming clear that the misbehaviors of the lawyers involved at all stages were not isolated incidents: The misconduct was systemic, and it's time to start holding those lawyers accountable.
JPMorgan Chase may come to regret buying Bear Stearns. Suits by Wells Fargo and bond insurer Ambac claim that Bear entirely disregarded loan quality to appease its trading desk's ever-growing demand for mortgages to securitize. Now, those parties are suing to get their money back, and they might get it.
On Monday, a group of institutional investors sued Countrywide and Bank of America over Countrywide's mortgages practices. The bank is accused of issuing vast numbers of loans using methods that went beyond lax standards and into fraud, with the sole goal of repackaging them into securities to resell with inflated ratings.
A top Massachusetts court has criticized banks for their "carelessness" during the securitization of mortgages in the state. But interests supporting the banks have issued their own messages -- trying to minimize the court's decision.
Sworn testimony in a recently concluded mortgage case may spell big trouble for Bank of America. If what one bank employee said proves to be accurate, paperwork problems at mortgage provider Countrywide could leave Bank of America on the hook for billions.
After a 16-day review of its foreclosures, Bank of America says it found no problems with any of them, and now it's ready to resume processing the paperwork. But that's a claim so unbelievable it doesn't pass the straight-face test. Here's why.
Even as the impact of the ongoing debacle slowly unfolds, it's not too early to tote up a list of 10 far-reaching developments that have already happened. None bodes well for the U.S. housing market, banks or economy.