Was There a Loan It Didn’t Like?
...senior mortgage underwriter at Washington Mutual during the late, great mortgage boom, Ms. Cooper says she found herself in a vise. Brokers squeezed her from one side, her superiors from the other, she says, and both pressured her to approve loans, no matter what. “At WaMu it wasn’t about the quality of the loans; it was about the numbers,” Ms. Cooper says. “They didn’t care if we were giving loans to people that didn’t qualify. Instead, it was how many loans did you guys close and fund?” ...After WaMu’s mortgage lending unit laid her off, she applied for work in its retail banking division. She was turned down, she suspects, because of the critical letters in her personnel file. Ms. Cooper’s biggest regret, she says, is that she did not reject more loans. “I swear 60 percent of the loans I approved I was made to,” she says. “If I could get everyone’s name, I would write them apology letters.”

Predatory Lending, Foreclosures, Housing Crisis & Bailouts
Much of America continues to steam about the bailout of Wall Street. But before Wall Street made billions from subprime mortgages, people in North Texas made millions.Wall Street is taking the heat, Main Street and maybe even people you know, may deserve part of the blame...The answer may be right there in your own neighborhood if there are foreclosed homes nearby. Featured News Reports

Cisneros: Many share blame for economic crisis
Many things share blame for the nation's current economic crisis, including Asian- and oil-fueled liquidity, interest rates kept low too long by the Fed, corporate borrowing binge, speculation in the housing market, and an unusual splitting of housing as shelter to housing as an investment opportunity, former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros said Sunday...In the context of such activities, Cisneros said, he and others were being blamed for pressing home ownership too far. "Frankly, I don't accept that," Cisneros said. Though he didn't mention it, Cisneros seemed to refer to an Oct. 19 New York Times series on people who helped cause the economic crisis in which his Lago Vista housing project on the South Side was used as an example of a housing project gone bad. Lago Vista was a partnership with KB Home, which built the troubled Mirasol Homes project on the West Side.

Genesis of “Affordable” Homeownership at What Price?
Policies Mr. Cisneros authorized while at HUD shaped the agenda of an unchecked industry that encouraged builders to carelessly throw up shoddily constructed homes overnight in the name of “affordable” housing... Forgotten was the lack of respect for those who were to live in these homes...The sad part is that Cisneros carried the water for some of the worst giants of the industry, giants like Countrywide and KB Homes. He facilitated federal policies that became the bread and butter of the building industry; a market made up of young first-time homebuyers and families that could not afford homes that were venerable to the deceptions of predatory lending... Overcompensated greedy CEO ' s and the building industry are the sole beneficiaries of the failed policies of Henry Cisneros. In his zeal, Cisneros forgot the little guy. See: New York Times Article -  Building Flawed American Dreams

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Henry Cisneros: Fannie and Freddie won’t need Treasury’s help
Henry Cisneros, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Bill Clinton, flat-out tells our viewers the taxpayer should not– and will not– be on the hook for propping up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants with major government connections. See FOX News  interview: Henry Cisneros…we have not only the strongest homeownership but the Best Quality of housing in the world.

New York Times: Examining the Financial Crisis
Reporter Gretchen Morgenson discusses an upcoming New York Times series of articles examining the causes of the current financial crisis.  See Video by Gretchen Morgenson

How the Credit Crisis Unfolded
The extent of the credit crisis that unfolded from the morning of Sept. 17 to the afternoon of Sept. 18. was unseen to the public but spooked policy makers into action. Read more...

Countrywide to Set Aside $8.4 Billion in Loan Aid
Countrywide Financial has agreed to the largest program ever to modify home loans, as part of a settlement with officials in 11 states, just days after the federal government adopted a giant financial rescue package without any relief for distressed homeowners...The terms of the settlement do not address Angelo R. Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide Financial, or David E. Sambol, the company’s former president. The states had included both as defendants. Mr. Brown said he would pursue litigation against both men. Neither could be reached for comment.

Treasury's Paulson says government to take over Fannie, Freddie
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Treasury Dept. said Sunday it is placing troubled mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae under conservatorship by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under the plan, the FHFA will assume the power of the board, and the two firms' cheif executives will resign after a transitional period. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said: "Based on what we have learned about these institutions over the last four weeks ... and given the condition of financial markets today, I concluded that it would not have been in the best interest of the taxpayers for Treasury to simply make an equity investment" rather than take over the firms outright. Read and Post Comments

Real estate appraisers still feel pressured to inflate valuations
Are mortgage loan officers and realty agents -- even individual home sellers -- continuing to influence or attempting to interfere with appraisals despite new federal rules that ban such behavior? Ask appraisers and many will tell you: It's still business as usual. Attempts at encouraging inflated appraisals continue to be commonplace, though in some cases the techniques have become subtler. "Absolutely, appraisers continue to get pressured" to hit the numbers needed to push transactions to closing, said Bill Garber, government affairs director for the Appraisal Institute, the country's largest professional organization representing appraisers.