Grayson

Fraudulent Foreclosures Running Amok

Submitted by on

The foreclosure fraud bombshell has hit the fan. Updating an earlier post, Bank of America has now halted foreclosures in 23 states:

Bank of America is joining JPMorgan Chase and GMAC is suspending foreclosure processes in 23 states that weren't reviewed properly.

A BoA exec admitted she signed up to 8,000 documents in a month and typically did not read them.

Connecticut has halted all foreclosures:

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Friday ordered a moratorium on all foreclosures by all banks for 60 days--the most radical action taken by a state on issue of document irregularities.

California also expanded the moratorium on foreclosures it announced last week on Ally Financial foreclosures to include those by J.P. Morgan Chase.

Calling the companies' review of key foreclosure documents "a ruse," California Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) ordered J.P. Morgan to prove it is following the law before it continues foreclosures in the state.

Both J.P. Morgan Chase and Ally have frozen foreclosures in 23 states because some employees had signed off on foreclosure paperwork without properly reviewing the files.

Colorado and Illinois have stopped foreclosures by Ally and at least seven other states have launched probes into the issue. But Connecticut is the first to institute an industry-wide ban.

Alan Grayson amendment to restrict Federal Reserve on Foreign Currency Swaps

Submitted by on

Update: This amendment passed by voice vote.

Frankly, I just don't understand foreign currency swaps. It's above my pay grade.

Yet, we have an amendment, by Rep. Alan Grayson and Ron Paul, to restrict the Federal Reserve on issuing foreign currency swaps.

The amendment restricts the Federal Reserve by requiring five Federal Reserve members of the board of Governors approve as well as the U.S. Treasury Secretary.

The Bank of International Settlements, Switzerland, has written a paper on the U.S. dollar shortage and the international policy response, from what happened by the fall of 2008. Below is a graph of the sudden increased foreign currency swaps issued by the Federal Reserve:

currency FX swaps fed
Src: Zero Hedge, click on image to enlarge

 

Too Big To Fail - Today's Financial Services Committee Hearings

Submitted by on

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke testified and then stonewalled another Q&A today in the House Financial Services Committee.

First to Fed. economic forecasts, otherwise known as gardening:

Job insecurity, together with declines in home values and tight credit, is likely to limit gains in consumer spending. The possibility that the recent stabilization in household spending will prove transient is an important downside risk to the outlook.

Why are the same people still in charge of banks they destroyed?

Submitted by on

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing yesterday, Compensation Structure and Systemic Risk.

Contained within the Q&A is this fantastic question by Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL-8th): How do we hold these executives accountable when they have destroyed their own banks?