Could BofA Push Countrywide into Bankruptcy?
Foreclosure Point Man Miller Re-Elected as Iowa Attorney General
November 3, 2010, Wall Street Journal
Iowa Attorney General Thomas Miller, a Democrat who is spearheading the 50-state investigation into the foreclosure mess that erupted in September, won re-election to his eighth four-year term as Iowa's top law-enforcement official. Mr. Miller's status as a point man in the multistate investigation has been seen by many observers as a sign that the states will push for a sweeping settlement requiring lenders to implement mortgage modifications allowing homeowners to stay in their houses.
Could BofA Push Countrywide into Bankruptcy?
November 2, 2010, Wall Street Journal
Closely followed financial stock analysts Mike Mayo of CLSA is out with a note this morning suggesting that BofA might be able to declare bankruptcy for its Countrywide unit, where most of the mortgage putback losses would be likely to emanate from. Mayo admits this is a longshot outcome. But suggests that a Countrywide bankruptcy is possible because it “remains a separate legal entity” and the specter of bankruptcy could be an “ace card” as part of negotiations at some point:
Stealth Stimulus for Defaulters
November 1, 2010, Wall Street Journal
While delays in the foreclosure process are costing bond holders and mortgage servicers, defaulting homeowners living in–or even renting out–their homes are getting a pretty tidy subsidy, writes the WSJ’s Mark Whitehouse in today’s paper. That subsidy is worth about $2.6 billion a month, according to a WSJ analysis. That’s .25 percent of U.S. personal income, roughly equivalent to the benefit top earners receive from Bush-era tax breaks.
Banks Ease up on Foreclosures Amid Increased Scrutiny
November 1, 2010, USA TODAY
In the Florida courtroom of Chief Judge Victor Tobin, there's been a marked change the past month in the pace of foreclosures that mortgage companies ask him to approve. Tobin had been handling up to 200 cases a day in which delinquent borrowers weren't contesting mortgage servicers' motions seeking court approval to repossess their homes. Now, it's about 50 a day.