U.S. said ready to sue big banks over mortgages
FHFA to seek billions in compensation: report
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A federal U.S. agency is ready to sue more than a dozen major banks, arguing that they misrepresented the quality of mortgage securities they put together and sold in the run-up to the bursting of the housing bubble, according to a published report.
The New York Times reported Friday that the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is expected to file the lawsuits in federal court Friday or Tuesday. The agency is expected to seek billions in compensation.
The suits are aimed at Bank of America Corp. /quotes/zigman/190927/quotes/nls/bac BAC -7.33% , Goldman Sachs Group Inc. /quotes/zigman/188479/quotes/nls/gs GS -2.73% , J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. /quotes/zigman/272085/quotes/nls/jpm JPM -3.17% , Deutsche Bank AG /quotes/zigman/207036 DE:DBK -4.17% /quotes/zigman/207002/quotes/nls/db DB -3.47% and others, the report said, citing three unidentified individuals briefed on the matter.
Meanwhile, the FHFA will argue that the banks failed to meet their due-diligence duties under securities law and failed to spot evidence that borrowers’ incomes were overstated or falsified, the report said. The securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value when many borrowers proved unable to meet payments.
The lawsuits aim to secure reimbursement for losses on securities held by Fannie and Freddie. Private investors have attempted to force banks to buy back mortgage-backed bonds.
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3 comments:
We bailed them out now the govt is going to sue them to get the money back and put them in the same situation they were in before the bailout.
so the gov't bailed them out, turns around and sues them, and will probably put them out of business?!?! what a waste of effort!! should have let them go down in the first place, let the free market do its thing.
It was government intrusion and regulation that put the banks in a vulnerable situation in the first place, The banks should being suing the government and Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should be in jail.
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