Massive Wave Of Lawsuits To Be Filed By The US Against America's Biggest Banks As Soon As Tomorrow
In a move that could either send BAC stock limit down overnight or send it soaring (we are still trying to figure out just what is going on here), the NYT has broken major news that the US is preparing to go nuclear on more than a dozen big banks among which Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, in an attempt for Fannie and Freddie to recoup $30 billion if not much more. The lawsuit is expected to hit the docket in the next few days: "The suits stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. If the case is not filed Friday, they said, it will come Tuesday, shortly before a deadline expires for the housing agency to file claims." Now, taken at face value, this would mean that Bank of America can kiss its ass goodbye as unlike the Walnut Place litigation, this will take place in Federal Court where Article 77 is not applicable. Yet there is something that gives us pause: namely logic, captured by the following words: "While I believe that F.H.F.A. is acting responsibly in its role as conservator, I am afraid that we risk pushing these guys off of a cliff and we’re going to have to bail out the banks again,” said Tim Rood, who worked at Fannie Mae until 2006 and is now a partner at the Collingwood Group, which advises banks and servicers on housing-related issues." In other words: if the banks are sued, and if justice prevails, the end of the world is nigh and cue TARP 2 - XXX. Now where have we heard that argument over, and over, and over before.
From the NYT:
The suits will argue the banks, which assembled the mortgages and marketed them as securities to investors, failed to perform the due diligence required under securities law and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. When many borrowers were unable to pay their mortgages, the securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value.
Fannie and Freddie lost more than $30 billion, in part as a result of the deals, losses that were borne mostly by taxpayers.
In July, the agency filed suit against UBS, another major mortgage securitizer, seeking to recover at least $900 million, and the individuals with knowledge of the case said the new litigation would be similar in scope.
Private holders of mortgage securities are already trying to force the big banks to buy back tens of billions in soured mortgage-backed bonds, but this federal effort is a new chapter in a huge legal fight that has alarmed investors in bank shares. In this case, rather than demanding that the banks buy back the original loans, the finance agency is seeking reimbursement for losses on the securities held by Fannie and Freddie.
The prestory is by now known by everyone:
Besides the angry investors, 50 state attorneys general are in the final stages of negotiating a settlement to address abuses by the largest mortgage servicers, including Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citigroup. The attorneys general, as well as federal officials, are pressing the banks to pay at least $20 billion in that case, with much of the money earmarked to reduce mortgages of homeowners facing foreclosure.
And last month, the insurance giant American International Group filed a $10 billion suit against Bank of America, accusing the bank and its Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch units of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages that backed the securities A.I.G. bought.
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan all declined to comment. Frank Kelly, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, said, “We can’t comment on a suit that we haven’t seen and hasn’t been filed yet.”
The response? Why Paulson-esque Mutual Assured Destruction:
But privately, financial service industry executives argue that the losses on the mortgage-backed securities were caused by a broader downturn in the economy and the housing market, not by how the mortgages were originated or packaged into securities. In addition, they contend that investors like A.I.G. as well as Fannie and Freddie were sophisticated and knew the securities were not without risk.
Investors fear that if banks are forced to pay out billions of dollars for mortgages that later defaulted, it could sap earnings for years and contribute to further losses across the financial services industry, which has only recently regained its footing.
The total litigation amount will not be in the trillions... but will certainly be in the tens if not hundreds of billions.
While the banks put together tens of billions of dollars in mortgage securities backed by risky loans, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is not seeking the total amount in compensation because some of the mortgages are still good and the investments still carry some value. In the UBS suit, the agency said it owned $4.5 billion worth of mortgages, with losses totaling $900 million. Negotiations between the agency and UBS have yielded little progress.
Bottom line: the gloves are coming off, and while we want to believe that this is the final nail in BAC's coffin (Quinn Emanuel is counsel for the FHFA), we do have a nagging feeling that the US will not purposefully do everything in its power to destroy its banking sector.
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WTF is going on today?? Lots of chatter about the government finally doing their fucking job and going after these shitbirds. Maybe Barry and CONgress have finally seen the fucking light?
no shit. a good question. or is this the next level of distracting the attention?
campaign propaganda for Ogolfer.
and campaign funds too.
anyone with any $ on those banks will be lucky to recover a dime for every dollar in deposits.
FDIC is a joke.
Umm really? You think they really want to incite bank runs on every bank in America by not honoring deposits? Think again.
Yes, they are prepared for it already:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/ron-paul-feds-preparing-for-%E2%80%9Cbreakdo...
It could all be about Obama's re-election - flex a little muscle for the plebs - right?
"if the banks are sued, and if justice prevails, the end of the world is nigh"
well, then let's NOT have justice prevail!
...you're welcome amerika
Remember, Clinton's AG threatened to sue if the banks didn't increase loans (mortgages into low income neighborhood (ACORN backed), The Sec of Housing essentially promised that Fannie and Freddie would buy the mortgages. I hope the banks actually defend against these suits, but they will probably be offered a deal and a lot of the difference between what the gov asks and settles will go to BHO in campaign contributions. We, taxpayers, get 10 cents and BHO collects 90cents of every dollar.
The wisest thing that I've ever heard from an Aggie. Have fun getting smashed in the SEC
either you are a bitter shorthorn or one of the losers still hanging onto the horns nuts in the BIGXII-III.
A&M going to the SEC is the best thing the administration has done in my lifetime and getting smashed a few years is a ok considering the long-term benefits.
Barry and the Shit Bags need to raise money to pay for big bloated government anywhere they can get it at this point.
Chapter 7 banks don't need to be bailed out, they need to be liquidated.
B and Co. are goig to try to buy us for around $50B.
They are going to shake down the banks for some coin and parade it around like the Lion King. Just like they shook down BP in the Gulf. Big media bonanza = Re-elected Barry O
They even shook down Uncle Warren for $5B, basically made him ante in, kind of like a Tithing to that big wooden owl in the freaky woods.
We'll will probably see banks get split up, but they will retain full control of capital and capital flows, a controlled demolition (many relevant analogies come to mind). The eye of the pyramid remains in place.
Not if we get the poking angle right.
I'm thinking about writing an auto-biography;
Dr. Ron Paul,
Physician who delivered over 4,000 kids.
That faint chortle everyone hears is Armando Falcon saying...told you so, you pandering shills.
yup - Banks made billions, fine them millions. "Gee look at the great job we did for the little guy!"
Turbo Tax Timah might reply to that with:
"Let them make millions so we can then screw them and transfer the money to the bankrupt USA."
When a school of pirahnas get hungry enough, do they feed upon themselves?
http://finviz.com/futures.ashx
shows only modest futures down for the Dow (23:59) and essentially flat movement in gold despite:
-- BIG .gov lawsuits vs. the TBTF banks
-- the BIG Wikileaks dump (the other big ZH story tonight)
What's it going to tkae?
WARNING!! There is a large fucking SMILE on my face.
Nukes
At some point... blood.
please remain in your seat
we have everything under control
+100
Fannie Mae and Freddie are like the post office. ACORN aka community organizers (including you know who) sued banks to force them to make loans to people who could not pay them back. This is all Cloward Piven to destroy capitalism and take down the USA> The banks are sh*t but the govt and Fannie and Freddie are worst - packed with Clinton/Obama cronies setting up 2008.
I had to go into Chase twice recently. The areas the branches in were largely white. 1 out of 15 employees in both branches were caucasian. The big banks are scum but if you think the govt is the good guy - you are sadly mistaken. This is hussein shaking down campaign money.
And what about Franklin Raines?
Franklin Raines is an Obama financial advisor who took $90 million in bonuses while running F-mae and F-mac straight in to the ground. He was also directly involved in causing the subprime financial crisis. This scum bag basically "cooked the books" to put more money in his own pockets and in the pockets of his "pals". However, for some strange reason, Obama and the Democrats don't seem to be a bit outraged by Raines "performance" bonuses.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.gambling.poker/browse_thread/thread/bdd1eea51bef964e
TBTF, Freddie, Fannie GS, BofA, JPM and the rest of the lot needs to go directly to bankruptcy court, do not pass go and do not collect $200 B in bonuses.
Way past that point. Their court is on the other side of the river Styx.
Youse guys are forgetting who pulls the strings in DC and who is up for re-election next year. Read Bruce Krasting's post from yesterday....http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/feds-plan-rumors-news
This is simply the first step in the process. First, demonize the mortgage originators (the big banks and their patsys). Second, introduce this grand plan to 'refi everyone left out of the .guv gravy with a new 4% mortgage'. Third, make it look like .guv is 'stuffing it down the bank's throats'. Fourth, refi all the current mortgagees at 4%. Now all those borrowers have an extra few hundred every month courtesy of obummer, just in time for election. Never mind that it pays down the fed's MBS balances and gives them an extra $trillion to buy bonds (or derivatives, or whatever). Fifth, take a victory lap at the next inaugural and enjoy another four years of green fees on us.
The bankers get to look victimized by .gov. obummer gets the best PR one could hope for going into an election. Ben gets to reload his heliccopter and we peons even get an extra hundred or so in our pockets each month. And, truth be told, everyone here gets to celebrate when gold hits $3000/oz next September because of all that new money sloshing over the seawalls on top of of all the liquidity already pumped into the system. Problem is, there is still no driver for jobs out there and all that new money is going straight into hard assets.
My "hard assets" include 7.62 x 39 and #10 cans of food. This may be about making Barry look tough and populist, but the results may be the trigger to TEOTWAWKI. I always thought it would be the end of reserve currency status for the dollar, but a take down of 30 major banks around the world would have the same effect. Banksters still have some leverage though, so this could just be a smoke bomb tossed out by a desperate failing President.
Thank you for trotting this lap-dog of the public sector/private sector/political hack multimillionaire crooked as a snake, scum bag...He does not get nearly enough credit for this mess he created nor does Billy Clinton and another stealth SOB to the bone limo-lib ROBERT RUBIN-- who of course was Turbo Tax Timmy's Mentor and Champion. After Little Timmy crapped his pants as NY Fed Gov Bob Rubin couldn't crow more loudly about moving him into the Treasury.... What a group of "Capitalists"!
On 16 July 2008 The Washington Post reported that Franklin Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters.".[25] Also, in an editorial on August 27, 2008 titled "Tough Decision Coming", the Washington Post editorial staff wrote that "Two members of Mr. Obama's political circle, James A. Johnson and Franklin D. Raines, are former chief executives of Fannie Mae."[26] On September 18, 2008, John McCain's campaign published a campaign ad that quoted the Washington Post reporting regarding Raines and Obama. The ad also notes that "Raines made millions and then left Fannie Mae while it was under investigation for accounting irregularities".[27]
Neither Raines nor the Obama campaign had disputed the Post's reporting before the ad. The text in question consisted of one sentence in each article. After McCain's attack ad however, both denied that Raines was or had been a provider of advice to Obama or the Obama campaign.[28][29][30]
In later commentary the Washington Post (the original source) described McCain's attempts to connect Obama with Franklin Raines based on their reporting as "a stretch" and said all reporting they did about the matter actually stems from a single conversation a reporter had with Raines in which she recalls Raines said he "had gotten a couple of calls from the Obama campaign". When the reporter queried Raines to the nature of the calls he said "oh, general housing, economy issues".[31]
Additionally, an email hoax falsely claims Raines was made "Chief Economic Advisor" for the Obama presidential campaign.[32]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Raines
Franklin Raines, former Clinton "Budget Chief" (gag) is in the middle of that dung heap and should be right up at the front of the line to the National Razor for a permanent haircut.
Heard on the radio news a claim it is Fannie suing the banks.
Isn't that kind of like Butch suing Sundance for robbing trains?
Really? Everyone here bitches cos Obama and crew does nothing about the bankers, and now everyone bitches cos they do? Everyone sez the banks have bought him off, Wall St owns him?
Maybe this is the reason Lord Blankfein retained counsel, eh? He and his minions surely see something bigger coming soon.
Step 1: Create a problem
Step 2: Allow the problem to blow up
Step 3: Find a crony to blame it on, slap wrist
Step 4: Declare solution to problem, and extol the humiliation and torture the crony endured
Step 5: Save croney as necessary evil, etc
Step 6: Campaign on toughness, solutions to problems, etc
Step 7: Return to Step 1
This has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with reelection. The extremist running the regime are cold blooded, Link is a tiny slice of background on the religion AKA 'progressivism'.
http://thedailybell.com/2872/Adrian-Krieg-The-Evil-Marionette-Master
The Banks run these clowns. If you Sheeple can't see through this, I really gotta question the prestige of ZH subscribers. Pull your head out of your asses and common sense will reveal who your masters really are.
Timmy will print whatever amounts of fiat digital or paper dollars that will be required to replace the peons deposits.
i agree. the number that sticks out in this article is 30 billion. 30 billion is chump change in the scope of things. this was a purposeful leak imo to make it look like taxpayers won't be the patsy for fannie and freddie anymore.
They don't have any choice... the FED has painted itself in a corner and they actually have to develop goodwill before they can implement any meaningful social policy (and have any chance of it being accepted). They throw us a bone every once and a while and we don't piss in their shoes.
Great call MachoMan! Spot on. Buffet is worried about a revolution and they need to paper it over..
spot on. buffet like any other big wig is afraid of the french revolution II. his head will be the first to roll.
Great call MachoMan! Spot on. Buffet is worried about a revolution and they need to paper it over..
The situation reminds me of the abusive parent or spouse: Slaps the kids and old lady around and then treats them to candy and goodies to assuage the guilt. Slap the banks with a minor ($30 bil -- chicken feed) fine, and then bail their asses out. What a dog and pony show.
Dime on a dollar? Those who have deposited 2.5 million or greater will get back 250K for their Master relationship accounts. Others may have to wait ...a long time... to get the dime.
Did Barry give it to Warren or what!
Shark frenzy, they are all starting to eat each other.
Fannie and Freddie have lost over $1 trillion on bad debt. Now the banks get sued for $30 billion. That's 3 cents on the dollar
Agreed, but this is just the beginning. Just think how J6P is gonna react when it is recognized, legally, these fookin crooks stole their homes and punted us all into a depression. This isn't just about the money. The peeps will be clamoring for blood. And the fingers at the top will all start pointing at each other.
Isn't that about the same rate as the $8.5 billion proposed BAC et al. settlement (or maybe that's 2 cents)?. Hmmm.
Feds simply can't let the statute of limitations run - that's basic malpractice, however you spin it. And this will give the federales more input into settling things in their and their friends' favor.
This is one of those times that Reagan was right: The scariest words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." If only he and his administration had done more to live up to them.
We find ourselves again at a Berlin moment: Tear down these banks, Mr. President.
"Fannie and Freddie have lost over $1 trillion on bad debt. Now the banks get sued for $30 billion. That's 3 cents on the dollar"
That's pretty much what will always happen when the government sets things up so that rewards go to bankers (money), congressmen (power and money), and Fed administrative agencies (pure power and budgets) while risks are on the taxpayer. There is noone particularly interested in protecting the taxpayer--the symbiotic relationship is between Wall Street and the government who split up the "rewards" part. The taxpayers are sometimes pesky but they have a short attention span so there are folks very interested in making sure the taxpayers do not upset the apple cart.
Thus, this is set piece theatre intended to keep the apple cart upright by deflecting victim (taxpayer) attention from the source of the problem--a government powerful enough to create this problem in the first place--without atually hurting the banks any more than necessary. After all, Wall Street contributed hugely to Obama's campaign in 2008 and the pain to be inflicted will be as little as possible. But there needs to be a publically designated bad guy here and it cannot be the government or the whole shebang falls apart. So the evil bankers will dutifully play their role and the real evil genius (the government) will continue to accumulate money and, more important, power as a result of this sequence of events.
"Fannie and Freddie have lost over $1 trillion on bad debt. Now the banks get sued for $30 billion. That's 3 cents on the dollar"
That's pretty much what will always happen when the government sets things up so that rewards go to bankers (money), congressmen (power and money), and Fed administrative agencies (pure power and budgets) while risks are on the taxpayer. There is noone particularly interested in protecting the taxpayer--the symbiotic relationship is between Wall Street and the government who split up the "rewards" part. The taxpayers are sometimes pesky but they have a short attention span so there are folks very interested in making sure the taxpayers do not upset the apple cart.
Thus, this is set piece theatre intended to keep the apple cart upright by deflecting victim (taxpayer) attention from the source of the problem--a government powerful enough to create this problem in the first place--without atually hurting the banks any more than necessary. After all, Wall Street contributed hugely to Obama's campaign in 2008 and the pain to be inflicted will be as little as possible. But there needs to be a publically designated bad guy here and it cannot be the government or the whole shebang falls apart. So the evil bankers will dutifully play their role and the real evil genius (the government) will continue to accumulate money and, more important, power as a result of this sequence of events.
It must be a distraction as so far i have seen virtually NOT A SINGLE BANKSTER IN HANDCUFFS. Talk and filing lawsuits is relatively cheap, like Obama jabber-jawing to infinity, yet ACTUAL PROSECUTION WITH BIG FINES AND HANDCUFFS HAS BEEN A NO-SHOW.
Doubtful. I am more inclined to think this is misdirection for other "goings on."
Like the latest upcoming nuclear false flag?
Or to forestall the increasingly inevitable revolution, complete with executions?
Actually,…… they are just trying to help the country understand that Obama speaking about the jobs,… the jobs we don't have, will never have again,.on the openeing night of the NFL wont be the worst thing to happen to the country next week!
"If you haven't prepared for the upcoming crisis,... now might be a good time to exit your home, run down the street pulling the hair from your head, and screaming,… but,…but he promised it was going to be different this time,... he prrroommmmissssseeedddddd!
We will get those jobs back when the cost of a unit of productivity in the US reaches parity with the global market. Sadly, this means the end of the US middle class hyperconsumptive lifestyle.
Also the end of running water, electricity and other things most of the world lives without
Sadly?
something to blame the crash on... or, something to finally trigger the crash.
Bernanke does need cover for more QE, but to hurt the banks so you can help the banks???
kinda makes you think ....
Didn't the fed drain liquidity just prior to the 08' plunge?
affirmative.
....and how many times must these sacred cycles, of bailout and censure, play out?
According to Hindu cosmology, the sacred bailout cycle is one full day (day and night) for Brahma. The lifetime of a Brahma himself may be 311 trillion and 40 Billion years. The cycles are said to repeat like the seasons, waxing and waning within a greater time-cycle of the creation and destruction of the universe.
So are the holy receptacles of the amerikan people's money like unto the lotus of Vishnu, he of 1000 names....
"In order to save the village, we need to destroy it"
Where have I heard that before...hmm?
Loot the banks...again. Fannie and Freddie plus hussein's gang and the bernake are the evil ones. The banks are just being looted by them for their allies and cronies.
The Fed is just paying them self back - Enter QE3 Stage Right
http://brucekrasting.blogspot.com/2011/08/feds-plan-rumors-of-news.html
Willing to bet Barry and CONgress are sitting on their hands and watching this from the sidelines just like an episode of The Muppets.
It's either a standard "roundup the usual suspects", farce; or the rumors of an ongoing war amongst the Oligarchs may be boiling to the surface of reality. Can only wait and see how things shake out. It was certainly timed to kick off this fall, just like a number of bloggers have been predicting all summer.
+Statler & Waldorf
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=muppets+two+old+men&hl=en&client=firefox-...
Glad I bought more phyzz today......shoulda bought more maybe.
This can only mean one thing... TARP 2, QE3^9, ARRA 2, etc. This is pretty standard... make it look like the government is going to do something right, and then turn around and bail everyone out.
Either way, going long FAZ.
I can feel it. I can feel it. Stop Dave. Dave stop.
Dave's not here, man.
Come on guys....wipe the shit off your goggles. This is a psy-op. Obama is floundering in the polls because he is focused on job creation like a lazer (sarcasm intended). He looks like a hero to the sheeple (but offers no substance to the systemic probs) and the damn banks get more free cash due to liquidity stress. They are loosing the info war. This attempts to tackle both issues.
Study French Revolution history you scum sucking traitors. We are coming for you.
and do they drop all charges/fines after the election victory kinda thing ?
I detect a hand-slap coming...
There will be no major penalties for the annointed ones.
i saw obummy wearing his special bat man costume, i thiink he wants to be thought of as gotham city's herio, i think i would have been better as skoobiedo
it is impossible... government is acting normally?
it is impossible... government is acting normally?
Barry and the Shit Bags need to raise money to pay for big bloated government anywhere they can get it at this point.
Chapter 7 banks don't need to be bailed out, they need to be liquidated.
More political grandstanding? Yeah...probably. Who cares. If it motivates more individuals to delve into the grime in their own personal RMBS home (and act/sue accordingly) that's great. Death by millions of cuts.
These fucking lousy bankers are squatting in their ivory towers. Kick their asses out.
Sure makes cents. Sue them then TARP it back. Rinse repeat
I'd much prefer pushing them off a cliff, dragging their carcasses back to the top, and then pushing them off again. No rinse, but repeat as necessary.
Yea.
The reality is, fuck the money. I'd just like the criminals to be properly executed.
Oh and btw Tim Rood: FUCK YOU, you cocksucker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Tw0_tXIfQ
Long, rope and pitchforks.
Boiled rope. If you don't boil the rope first, you risk a rats nest snag from the fibers, and also sparks (possibly fire) from the friction. Boiling the rope heat shrinks the fibers back into the twist, and brings the wax deposits to the surface, creating a very smooth and lubricated rope surface. Boiled rope is also very stiff after treatment. Same as a lasso.
Also long boiled rope, pitchforks, and other implements.
You've put a scary amount of thought into this haven't you.
"Chance favors the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur
"Moo." -- Elsie
meh.. probably a proficient mariner. Rope burns are a f'n bitch.. Scuffs up your boat too..