Kick 'em when they're down
Unions representing hotel and textile workers have created a Web site advocating a boycott of Countrywide Financial Corp.'s banks and financial institutions. Countrywide's not doing enough to help out troubled borrowers, the unions claim, so consumers shouldn't let the lender use their savings to make more loans...If Countrywide can be accused of kicking borrowers while they're down, the same might be said of the boycott, depending on your point of view.

Outstanding Fox 4 Report:Mortgage Investments Story
A Becky Oliver Investgative story.  View video report Part I - View video Part II - Follow-up: Mortgage Investors React...  

House passes controversial anti-predatory-lending bill
The House of Representatives Thursday approved controversial legislation intended to combat predatory lending, amending some provisions to address criticism that the bill could worsen the credit crunch, but strengthening others. HR 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007, would create a national licensing system for mortgage loan originators and require lenders to determine that borrowers have a reasonable ability to repay a loan. The bill would also create limited liability for companies that bundle mortgages for sale to Wall Street investors.

Housing fraud alleged
...the developers and 10 other businesses used predatory lending, fraud and unfair business practices against Spanish-speaking homebuyers over the past two years...mortgage broker firms Universal Mortgage, IRA Mortgage and Creative Mortgage placed the plaintiffs in subprime loans instead of placing them in the best loans possible, then took undisclosed and excessive commissions from them...the plaintiffs are suing Countrywide Financial, New Century, Cameron Financial Group and Wells Fargo banks, saying they approved illegal and unfair business practices committed against the plaintiffs.

Cisneros quits Countrywide board
Cisneros had served on the board since 2001. He earned $358,966 as a Countrywide director in 2006, according to a company filing. His departure was announced before Countrywide on Friday announced a $1.2 billion loss in the third quarter, triggered by the worst U.S. housing slump in more than 15 years. But because the company said it would be profitable in the fourth quarter and in 2008, its shares rose more than 32 percent Friday to close at $17.30.  In San Antonio, Cisneros, 60, is executive chairman of CityView, a company that provides financing for urban home builders.

Giant mortgage lender's third-quarter results will offer a view into the depth of the problems facing lenders, housing industry and the economy as a whole
The company has already disclosed some of the bad news. It will take a charge of $125 million to $150 million in order to cut staff and close offices as it scales back the business. The number of mortgage loans and their value during the quarter are both down by more that 40 percent.The lender's downturn is stunning nonetheless. The drop in loans is the equivalent of General Motors selling 40 percent fewer autos or American Airlines carrying 40 percent fewer passengers. Even in the difficult periods that both of those companies went through earlier this decade, neither approached that kind of downturn.

The mortgage lender and a long-time adversary claim they can change foreclosure prevention with a new bailout program
It's an unlikely pairing: the nation's biggest mortgage lender and one of its harshest critics. But with thousands of troubled borrowers facing foreclosure, the two adversaries put aside some of their differences and joined forces. Countrywide Finance, announced it's partnering with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), a gadfly/community advocacy group that has been its arch enemy for years..."For the first time," he said, "we're going to be looking at the interests of the borrowers first.

Countrywide: The Good, The Bad, Or The Ugly?
Countrywide’s announcement on Tuesday that it was starting a $16 billion program to help borrowers keep their homes landed with a dull thud on Wall Street. Yet even though the preservation program may not directly enhance Countrywide’s bottom line it could help boost the health of the U.S. housing and mortgage markets. But investors were not impressed. The Calabasas, Calif.-based company’s shares slid 4.0%, or 63 cents, to $15.05 on Tuesday afternoon.

House Democrats unveil anti-predatory-lending bill
House Democrats on Monday introduced legislation that would require all mortgage loan originators to be licensed, and would create new restrictions on their activities -- including prohibitions on steering borrowers into loans that are "not in the consumer's interest." The product of months of hearings, "The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007" would create new minimum standards for all mortgages -- including a requirement that lenders make good-faith determinations of a borrower's ability to repay...The bill introduced today by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Democratic North Carolina Reps. Brad Miller and Mel Watt would stop short of creating full assignee liability.

Make builders, lenders fix the housing mess
So this time around we have home builders admitting that employees regularly lied or broke federal lending rules in order to sell houses to unqualified buyers. That, of course, inflated revenues. For example, Beazer Homes (BZH, news, msgs) has admitted that it violated federal housing rules by arranging for nonprofit organizations to lend potential buyers their down payments -- and then repaid the nonprofit by rolling the "down payment" into the buyer's mortgage. On Oct. 11, the company told Wall Street that it expects to pay about $15 million in fines. The stock actually rallied on that news because Wall Street analysts had been projecting the company would face much steeper financial penalties.