JPMorgan, B.O.A .Face `Hydra' of State Foreclosure Investigations

JPMorgan, B.O.A .Face `Hydra' of State Foreclosure Investigations
October 5, 2010, Bloomberg

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Ally Financial Inc., defending allegations of fraudulent home foreclosures from customers and Congress, may face the most financial peril from investigations by state attorneys general.


Push to Halt Foreclosures Gains Steam
October 5, 2010, CNN Money.com

Pressure is mounting on U.S. banks to halt more foreclosures amid widespread allegations that loan servicers failed to verify legal documents in what could be hundreds of thousands of cases.  Members of Congress from California wrote to the heads of the Justice Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday, requesting that they investigate the foreclosure processes of banks under their purview for "possible violations of law or regulations."


Delaware AG Asks 3 Banks to Freeze Foreclosures
October 6, 2010, Associated Press

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden's office sent letters Tuesday asking three mortgage lenders to suspend all pending foreclosures until the banks can review their policies. The letter also asks Bank of America Corp., JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Ally Financial Inc. officials to describe their foreclosure review and verification process, and provide copies of Delaware homeowner complaints about the foreclosure process, including concerns about court documents that contained inaccurate information, improper notarization or signatures to Biden's fraud and consumer protection division.

Housing Inventory Climbs Again In September
October 5, 2010, Wall Street Journal

Housing inventories, which typically dip as the summer ends, rose for the ninth straight month in September, indicating that sales remain weak as the downturn drags on. Listings–including single-family homes, condos and townhomes–in 26 major metro markets spiked 13.5% from a year ago, reports ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif.


Mortgage Investors Are Set for More Pain
October 6, 2010, Wall Street Journal

For mortgage investors, the recent suspension of foreclosures could potentially cause further losses in the already-battered $2.8 trillion market for residential mortgage-backed securities. In the past two weeks, three major loan-servicing companies put thousands of foreclosure sales and evictions on hold in the 23 U.S. states where foreclosures are handled by the courts. On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for a federal investigation into the issue.


Wells Fargo Opts Against Joining Rivals in Halting Foreclosures
October 4, 2010, Bloomberg

Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest U.S. home lender, said it opted against joining some other banks in delaying foreclosures as it stands by statements made to courts. “Our affidavit procedures and daily auditing demonstrate that our foreclosure affidavits are accurate,” the San Francisco-based bank said today in an e-mailed statement.