The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged subprime loans

There’s More to Answer for in the Wells Fargo Subprime Suits

By | 09.21.09 | 10:51 am

Now that commentator and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley has severed his ties to Wells Fargo & Co., what about the bank itself? As Smiley noted in his decision to cut business ties with Wells, the bank is facing several lawsuits charging that it engaged in illegal More…

Tavis Smiley Says He’s Cutting Ties to Wells Fargo

By | 09.20.09 | 7:05 pm

Prominent author, commentator and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley has announced that he’s cutting all business ties to Wells Fargo & Co. The move comes in the wake of a TWI story last week about Wells Fargo “Wealth Building” seminars held in black neighborhoods starting in 2005, More…

Suit Alleges Trusted Blacks Drew Minorities to High-Rate Loans

By | 09.17.09 | 2:39 pm

As the housing market began booming in the mid-2000s, Wells Fargo & Co. teamed up with prominent African American commentator and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley and financial author Kelvin Boston, the host of “Moneywise,” a multicultural financial More…

Here’s Why Loan Mods Don’t Work: Borrowers End Up With Higher Payments

By | 09.16.09 | 8:58 am

Ever wonder why loan modifications haven’t become the silver bullet that would solve the foreclosure crisis? Via Patrick.net, USA Today explains in simple terms a phenomenon TWI also has noted, when it comes to loan mods: Borrowers who can’t afford their mortgages and go looking for relief More…

Wells Fargo Exec Who Partied in Foreclosed Beach House Loses Job

By | 09.15.09 | 9:00 am

Well, at least one banking executive is personally feeling the pain of the foreclosure crisis: Wells Fargo has fired a top employee who moved into a foreclosed Malibu beach house and threw lavish parties all summer there, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Cheronda Guyton, a senior vice president responsible

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Financial Services Industry Wastes No Time Fighting Cramdown

By | 09.11.09 | 9:18 am

This should come as no surprise: Even the mere mention of the possibility of bringing back cramdown legislation prompted the Mortgage Bankers Association to spring into action. Here’s the group’s rapid response to comments this week from several powerful Democrats, who who threatened to renew efforts to allow More…

Fears Grow for a Bailout of the FHA

By | 09.04.09 | 8:57 am

This should sound familiar: Growing losses on Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgage loans are prompting fears the agency will be next in line for taxpayer help, The Wall Street Journal says.

The Federal Housing Administration, hit by increasing mortgage-related losses, is in danger of seeing its reserves fall below the

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Banks Contradict Themselves on Why Loan Modifications Aren’t Working

By | 09.01.09 | 9:12 am

CNN examines the stalled efforts to rework troubled mortgages, noting that only 6 percent of  4 million eligible homeowners have been helped so far under the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable program. The piece notes that banks say they are trying to do loan modifications, but need more time More…

The Progress on Loan Modifications Isn’t Quite What It Seems

By | 08.05.09 | 9:29 am

The Treasury Department’s report on the progress — or lack of it — among servicers doing loan modifications makes it seem like the Obama administration is keeping a close eye on its Making Home Affordable Program. But Felix Salmon at Reuters takes a second look at Treasury report, More…

The Lack of Consequences for Banks That Fail to Modify Loans

By | 07.30.09 | 9:14 am

Because servicers in the lending industry can make more money collecting delinquency fees on mortgages than by modifying loans, guess which road they are taking? The New York Times says today that the longer borrowers remain behind on their payments, the more money servicers collect, even after the home More…