Barney Frank Eyes Mortgage Cramdown Revival

A controversial piece of bankruptcy legislation may see a revival soon, according to discussion begun this week with House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., indicating mortgage cramdowns through bankruptcy is an increasingly relevant idea. At a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Frank gave vocal support to cramdown legislation, which would allow bankruptcy judges to alter [...]

Securities Firms Gain Access to Anti-Fraud Tools: Tech Roundup

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services announced Wednesday it had expanded its anti-fraud solutions to securities firms. Previously offered only to banking institutions, the tools will help securities firms with various anti-fraud and regulatory compliance challenges, including identity verification operations, high-risk customer detection, employee and account fraud detection. “With the current turmoil in the financial services industry, one [...]

Cram-Down Bill: House Gives it Another Go

The House is expected to vote Thursday on a hotly-contested measure that would grant bankruptcy judges the authority to alter mortgage terms to help homeowners skirt foreclosure. Bankruptcy courts are currently barred from rewriting the loan terms on a primary residence. But under the proposed legislation, bankruptcy judges would be allowed reduce the interest rate, reduce [...]

Obama Modification Plan Rolls Out

[Update one clarifies some eligibility statements.] The $75 billion mortgage refinance and modification plan launched Wednesday by the Treasury Department is estimated to reach some 9 million homeowners, according to Treasury estimates. The Making Home Affordable program’s guidelines will offer servicer and borrower incentives and are designed in such a way as to allow for immediate [...]

Government May Subsidize Mortgage Modifications

President Barack Obama’s administration is reportedly in talks to finalize a mortgage subsidy program geared toward at-risk borrowers not yet delinquent on their loans. Unnamed sources on Thursday told Reuters the plan involves a reappraisal of homes for value and affordability, as part of an examination of homeowners to determine eligibility for the subsidy program. [...]

One in Nine Contemplate Bankruptcy: Report

Twelve percent of Americans have either filed or considered filing for bankruptcy, according to a new survey released Thursday by FindLaw.com, a legal information Web site. The number of consumer bankruptcy filings has nearly doubled in the last three years, from 573,000 in 2006 to 1,064,927 in 2008, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center. “Bankruptcy [...]

Cram-Downs Pass House Panel; Head to Vote

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a measure for so-called “cram-down” provisions that would allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of a mortgage by reducing the interest rate, extending the life or lowering the principal or loan balance as part of a bankruptcy debt restructuring plan. The bill passed the panel’s approval 21 [...]

Wells Fargo Posts $2.55B Fourth Quarter Loss

(Update 1: noted that WFC’s results did not include Wachovia) The controversial acquisition of Wachovia Corp. wasn’t needed to help push Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC: 27.87 -1.59%) into the red for the first time in seven years, with the San Francisco-based bank saying Wednesday morning that it lost $2.55 billion, or (.79/share), during the fourth [...]

Cram-Downs Will Drive MBS Downgrades, Analysts Say

(Update 1) Key industry analysts have been raising a red flag in the past few weeks regarding the possible impact of a plan that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of mortgages during debt restructuring, suggesting that allowing so-called cramdowns to take place will likely lead to further significant write-downs in an already battered [...]

ABA: Citi Worked Alone on Cram-Down Deal

The American Bankers Association said Friday morning that it opposed recently proposed cram-down legislation that was surprisingly endorsed late Thursday by Citigroup Inc. (C: 4.20 -1.41%), and suggested it wasn’t apprised of the negotiations between the financial giant and key members of the Senate. “ABA was not a participant in the recent agreement between Citigroup and [...]

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