Bank Lawyers Blog: Banking Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Banking Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Banking Law

Bank Lawyers Blog

Commentary on Banking Law

Post Frequency: 10.2/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2011 at 23:38:00

Wamu Continues To Take Its Lumps On Appraisal Practices

Posted on January 22, 2008
Although it's fun to poke fun at Andy Cuomo's publicity-hounding ways, his investigation into Washington Mutual's appraisal practices continues to look like it might be based upon more than pure ether-induced hallucinations. The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday that Wamu has been sued by former appraiser Jennifer Wertz, who alleges that Wamu pressured her to revise her fair market valuations upward, and black-listed her when she refused...

Wal-Mart Embraces Mexican Microlending

Posted on January 22, 2008
Readers may remember when Wal-Mart took its marbles away from the ILC-acquisition game, told the FDIC ?thanks? for doing its job of acting promptly on applications so well, and went home to implement Plan B in its quest to dominate the field of selling retail financial services to the average American Jack and Jill...

Cleveland Reeks! Cleveland Reeks!

Posted on January 21, 2008
Although Baltimore was first out of the gate in the race to the courthouse by broken cities in order to "rob back" the banks that the cities believe robbed them, the recent suit filed by Cleveland seems to me the more bizarre piece of litigation...

Predatory Borrowing

Posted on January 20, 2008
I'm just getting around to reading a nifty blog post by Conde Nast Portfolio.com blogger Felix Salmon (h/t Housing Wire), who jumps into a hissy fit between New York Times columnist Tyler Cowen and blogger Barry Ritholtz. Cowen alleged that "predatory borrowing" (fraud by borrowers) may have been a bigger problem in the residential mortgage mess than "predatory lending...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Fire Away

Posted on January 17, 2008
Readers continue to send e-mails that contain death threats constructive criticism of an errant bloviation that appeared on this blog or brain-injury-inflicting thought-provoking questions concerning a topic about which I don't give a damn haven't yet blogged...

Multifactor Authentication Is Not A Panacea

Posted on January 16, 2008
While some bankers took a laidback approach to multifactor authentication requirements that were effective January 1, 2007, it appears that the vast majority banks "got with the program." In an article in the American Banker (paid subscription required) shortly before the start of the new year, reporter Daniel Wolfe noted that "most banks" met the January 1, 2007 deadline...

Conspiracy Theory: Are They Greased Wheels Or Is It A Greased Pig?

Posted on January 15, 2008
I was traveling the last few days, unable to blog, and blissfully unaware of the really important stuff happening in the wide world of banking law. I returned home today to find this article from Seeking Alpha, (h/t Housing Wire), breathlessly entitled "Countrywide Buyout Deal Greased From The Start...

Loose Lips Can Sink Dips

Posted on January 11, 2008
In the midst of the rumors about Countrywide Financial Corp.'s financial condition over the past few days, some readers have sent me links to blog posts that could be read as allegations that Countrywide Bank, the thrift subsidiary of Countrywide Financial Corp...

Those Who Don't Know History Are Bound To Misstate It

Posted on January 10, 2008
A reader sent a link to this blog post and said "what do you think?" The answer is, "Not much, and yet, quite a bit." Here's a mortgage expert's (at least, that's how he's billed) take on the 1980s S&L crisis, and how we haven't learned from it, or, maybe how banks have learned from it, but the lesson they learned is how to be bad guys and get away with it...

The Fine Print

Posted on January 08, 2008
Contracts between banks and their technology service providers need to be carefully reviewed by competent legal counsel, as well as by knowledgeable bank employees. Why? Well, it should be sufficient to state that regulatory agency guidelines advise banks that contractual review be taken seriously, as a matter of basic safety and soundness, and that certain laws require that certain contracts with certain vendors comply with certain legal requirements (such as the privacy and security requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)...

There Ought To Be A Law

Posted on January 07, 2008
One of the perverse benefits (which a sane man would consider a curse) of writing this blog is that I get to interact with tin foil hat wearers of all stripes, from throughout this spinning globe I like to call "Planet Earth." They sing their sad songs of woe, and sometimes, right before they're swept away in a river of their own tears, they humbly beseech me to alert the world to some heinous injustice being perpetrated upon the proletariat by the evil capitalist oppressors who run the mortgage lending industry...

Unleash The Litigators!

Posted on January 06, 2008
A couple of months ago, we noted that law firms large and not-so-large were trotting out "subprime mortgage practice groups" and salivating about all the great litigation and bankruptcy work that would flow from the crisis. The main stream media continues to beat the drum about how no one will benefit from this crisis but those damned lawyers...

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Example No. 432)

Posted on January 04, 2008
Yesterday, Tanta at Calculated Risk posted the following public service video prepared by Freddie Mac and launched on YouTube. In her customary pithy style, Tanta gives a synopsis of the spot: To summarize: if you're in the situation you're in with an unaffordable mortgage because some fast-talking guy in a suit asked you to sign a bunch of papers you didn't understand, you are not going to be in a better situation because some other fast-talking guy in a suit asked you to sign a bunch more papers you don't understand...

Tilting At Windmills

Posted on January 03, 2008
One of those personal interest stories that so warms the heart over the holidays made it to the front page of The Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required) last week. It concerned a man and his mission: to live free or die. Well, not "die," actually, more like "or be evicted," but the "live free" part is accurate...

Option ARM Armageddon?

Posted on January 02, 2008
According to the Los Angeles Times, the subprime mortgage crisis was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the global warming meltdown in the wide world of mortgage lending. Next up: option ARMs. There's another time bomb waiting to explode, experts say: risky loans made to people with good credit...

Bailing Out The Bad Guys

Posted on December 27, 2007
I wonder how mandatory mediation will work with crooks? According to The Wall Street Journal, "[f]raud goes a long way toward explaining why mortgage defaults and foreclosures are rocking financial institutions, Wall Street and the economy." The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the share of its white-collar agents and analysts devoted to prosecuting mortgage fraud has risen to 28%, up from 7% in 2003...

Related Law Bulletins

Medical Malpractice: Your Case Is On The Trial Calendar-Can Defense Lawyers Talk to Your Doctor?
Your New York attorney has notified the Court that your case is re...

Lawyers Work To Free Palestinian Family
On September 30, 2001, a Palestinian family, the Ibrahims, entered...

Holiday Gift Guide For Lawyers
My friend Reid Trautz is is the Director of the American Immigrati...

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...

The Mexico Trucker Blog
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed rest...