And then Northern Rock came to America. In waves.
In my personal first-amendment protected opinion, WaMu will fail in the next few days. I have no financial interest in WaMu. I just want to make sure my readers, and their friends and family, know what's coming.
Do your own research. Come to your own conclusions.
The bank failures are here. Starting with the toxic lenders who fell in love with mortgage fraud and liar's loans.
Deal with it.
The bank failures are here.
IndyMac depositors line up for cash after seizure
PASADENA, California (Reuters) - Hundreds of worried IndyMac Bancorp Inc customers descended on the company's branches on Monday to withdraw their money, after regulators seized what was once one of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States.
Washington Mutual says its capital position is strong
SEATTLE (AP) -- Responding to a sharp plunge in its share price and investor worry about continued problems in the mortgage market, Washington Mutual says it has enough spare cash and strong capital ratios to handle the downturn.
July 14, 2008
FLASH: HERE'S A PHOTO OF THE LINE OF PANICKED SAVERS OUTSIDE INDYMAC. THIS SCENE WILL BE REPEATED AT WAMU IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. DON'T LET THIS BE YOU
June 27, 2008
See ya IndyMac. Shouldn't have made all those "liar's loans". Shouldn't have knowingly enabled rampant mortgage fraud. And oh, call some lawyers.
Gee, we didn't see this one coming, did we HP'ers?
Oh, yeah, I guess we did. Here. And here. And here. And here. And that's just for starters.
You'd have to be a total fool to have money (beyond FDIC) with banks like IndyMac. Or WaMu. Or Countrywide.
Get popcorn. And get ready for frog-marches.
Schumer presses regulators for action to avoid disaster from IndyMac; stock plunges
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - The possible collapse of big mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc. poses significant financial risks to its borrowers and depositors, and regulators may not be ready to intervene to protect them, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday.
A wave of IndyMac depositors withdrawing their funds could leave IndyMac "in a disastrous financial situation," Schumer said.
March 15, 2008
March 12, 2008
Here, have $500,000. Go ahead. Take it. You know you want it. Nah, you don't need a job. Go out, buy a nice house, maybe a Hummer too!
Looking back at it, it was just so incredibly STUPID.
It was stupid for the homedebtor to "buy" a house at a price that made no sense, that they had no chance of keeping
It was stupid for the mortgage brokers to commit obvious mortgage fraud, and game the system for short term gain
It was stupid for realtors and the NAR to destroy their profession with their lies, deception and spin
It was stupid for builders to buy up land at any price and build homes as fast as they could, thinking the Ponzi Scheme would never end
It was stupid for Countrywide and Indymac employees to go along with the scam instead of raising a red flag and blowing a whistle
It was stupid for Fannie and Freddie to buy any Alt-A garbage, exposing the US taxpayer to their stupidity
It was stupid for the mainstream media to cheerlead the housing bubble, when they should have been shouting about the mortgage fraud and stupid prices instead
It was stupid for George Bush to cheerlead housing when prices made no sense with his 'ownership society' Ponzi Scheme promotion
It was stupid for Alan Greespan and Ben Bernanke to do nothing to regulate the lenders as they were mandated to do
It was stupid for the banks, governments and investors who bought the garbage loan CDOs
Bottom line - EVERYONE involved in home buying got stupid. EVERYONE lost their minds. However, unless they're prosecuted, the scamsters and fraudsters will come out ahead. They'll know crime did pay. And they won't be stupid after all.
March 10, 2008
HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day
Should ALL of the Countrywide employees involved in mortgage fraud in any way be investigated and prosecuted, even if they were "just doing what they were told to do" as part of their job?
Or should the lower-level employees be offered amnesty in return for testifying against the managers and executives?
March 07, 2008
Ruh-roh: "Countrywide's Risky Mortagages May Be Ballooning Out Of Control"
Seriously, when are we going to hear more in the MSM about liar's loans and option ARMs?
Because it's just so damn obvious what's coming next...
Maybe someone will ask Angelo today about these neutron bombs when he's under oath. Or maybe not. I'm not sure we can handle the truth..
Countrywide's Risky Mortagages May Be Ballooning Out Of Control
As of the end of December, Countrywide had nearly $29 billion in pay-option loans, with about $26 billion of the total having grown beyond their original loan amount, the company said in a filing late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Our borrowers' ability to defer portions of the interest accruing on their loans may expose us to increased credit risk," the company said. It added that its risk could be greater because the amount of deferred interest on pay-option loans was on the upswing.
The Associated Press says that the number of homeowners missing their interest-only payments is still increasing, and a staggering 81% of borrowers with these risky loans provided little or no documentation of their income.
As of the end of December, 71 percent of borrowers with pay-option loans were electing to make less than full interest payments.
March 01, 2008
So, won't it be fun to see who holds the Liar's Loan / Alt-A toxic mortgage garbage?
It's MortgagePANIC Round 2!
Let's get it on!
February 29, 2008
Ruh-roh: Right on schedule, the Alt-A "Liar's Loan" CDOs start tumbling. The big problem? $1 Trillion of Alt-A, vs. only $650 billion of subprime
Man, if the financial world just read the bubble blogs, they wouldn't have all these little "surprises"
Gee, what a shock! The liar's loans ain't gettin' paid back! Who knew! Oh my!
Unreal.
They called them "Liar's Loans" for a reason. One more time - they called them "Liar's Loans" for a reason.
Not only will Liar's Loan King IndyMac go out of business eventually, after getting sued to the moon by the bagholders who bought their garbage, but I hope to see their mortgage-fraud-enabling stock-pumping CEO Michael Perry frog-marched at the FBI's earliest convenience.
Alt-A Mortgage Securities Tumble, Signaling Losses
Securities backed by Alt-A mortgages and other home loans to borrowers with better-than-subprime credit tumbled this month, causing investment funds to unwind or meet margin calls and signaling larger losses for Wall Street.
About $950 billion of Alt-A mortgage securities are outstanding, compared with about $650 billion of subprime securities and $500 billion of prime-jumbo securities
February 22, 2008
It is now official - the United States is no longer a nation of laws - "FBI Will Not Go After Borrowers Who Lied on Mortgage Applications"
When I read reports like these, I feel sorry for America. A country founded on the rule of law. A once-proud country of order and fairness.
No more.
This sends a terrible message, that crimes will not be prosecuted, that laws will be ignored, that crime pays, and that playing by the rules is the wrong thing to do.
George Bush, the Justice Department, the FBI, the IRS and the 50 state attorneys general should be ashamed. This is un-American, and those involved in allowing this illegal behavior to go unpunished should be investigated by Congress, and tried for treason. But that would involve Conress not being corrupt and un-American themselves.
Hat-tip to ml-implode for the link
FBI Will Not Go After Borrowers Who Lied on Mortgage Applications
Borrowers who defrauded lenders by lying on their mortgage application could be thrown in prison for up to 30 years and forced to pay a $1 million fine under the current federal law. But the FBI says there is no intention to pursue borrowers at this time.
Almost 60 percent of stated-loan applicants inflated their incomes by at least 50 percent, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. The worst part is that everyone knew the income was being inflated. The industry even had a name for these kinds of loans--'liar's loans.'
Although lying on a mortgage application is a federal crime, borrowers who committed mortgage fraud are low on the FBI's list of priorities. Joseph Schadler, an FBI spokesman, said investigators will be focusing on organized property flipping rings and bogus foreclosure rescue schemes instead of lying buyers.
February 13, 2008
Bush Administration new 2008 slogan (c/o Henry Paulson): "The worst is just beginning"
Thank you Hank Paulson for saying what we all know was true anyway.
I can't wait to see the bumper stickers!
Thanks doom for the vid
February 11, 2008
HousingPANIC Quote of the Day
"The entire real estate debacle is the fault of everybody that was involved. And it was all about greed and speed. The brokers wanted their commission. The lenders wanted their premiums. The borrowers wanted their homes."
- Rachel Dollar, a Santa Rosa attorney who represents lenders in fraud and other cases, February 2008
From a great article "Loans Built on Lies" in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (thanks HP'ers - looks like more MSM have been reading the bubble blogs.
And why aren't the Feds investigating EVERY SINGLE STATED INCOME LOAN taken out in America these past few years? The United States is no longer a nation of laws. We're a nation of mortgage fraudsters who are simply getting away with crime (while stiffing the banks and ruining neighborhoods)
February 07, 2008
Robert Shiller, laying it down, telling you how it's gonna be.
A "historic housing bust" the likes of which haven't been seen since the Great Depression.
Any questions?
February 02, 2008
January 28, 2008
HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day
Who should be arrested first for knowingly enabling mortgage fraud?
1) Angelo Mozilo
2) Casey Serin
3) Bob Toll
4) Charlie Prince
5) Stan O'Neal
6) Michael Perry
7) The crazy looking dude in this wanted poster
8) The thousands of mortgage brokers across America who did the paperwork
9) The millions of housing gamblers who lied about their incomes
10) Nobody gets arrested, since the United States is no longer a nation of laws
January 03, 2008
It was cute watching all the little lenders go belly-up. Now watch the big boys like HSBC, WaMu and Wells Fargo go kerplunk, and that won't be cute.
December 22, 2007
Washington Mutual (finally) under SEC investigation for its role in inflated and bogus home appraisals
Cool.
But what the f*ck took so long?
Wasn't it OBVIOUS that corrupt toxic lenders like WaMu, Countrywide, IndyMac and First Fed were systematically and blatantly encouraging and participating in rampant illegal mortgage fraud?
It sure was to HP'ers.
(Note - I'm short WaMu and don't see any way this pig survives, especially when they're found guilty of mortgage fraud and have to buy back all the worthless crap paper they issued. Tilt. And if you have money in a WaMu account, GET IT OUT NOW!!!)
WaMu Says Cooperating with SEC on Home Appraisals
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Washington Mutual said on Thursday it is cooperating with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into the handling and reporting of mortgage loans that may have been based on inflated home appraisals.
The SEC is also looking into whether the company, one of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders, properly accounted for its loans in financial disclosures to investors, according to the Journal, which cited people familiar with the situation.
October 23, 2007
Now this is interesting... Congress considering legislation that would allow housing gamblers to sue mortgage companies for giving them a mortgage
You've gotta be kidding me.
I guess Barney Frank didn't get his checks from the REIC this year.
I wonder if he'll also introduce legislation that would allow mortgage companies to sue housing gamblers who lie on their mortgage applications?
Two words: Personal Responsibility.
Meanwhile, if this passes, there will be no more stated income BS, no more 5-times income loans, and lenders who go from reckless to overly-cautious. And that means significantly less buyers, even more unwanted supply, and prices will fall even further.
OK, sure, go ahead, pass this one. You have the HP endorsement Barney.
Bill Allowing Mortgage Lawsuits Expected to Stir Fierce Opposition
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 — House Democrats introduced legislation on Monday that would for the first time let homeowners sue Wall Street firms for relief from mortgages that the borrowers never had a realistic chance of repaying.
Critics warn that the bill could chill and perhaps freeze a huge source of capital that has helped push homeownership in the United States to its highest level.
The legislation, introduced by Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would require any mortgage lender to verify that the borrower has a “reasonable ability to repay” based on documented income, credit history and debt level.
September 02, 2007
Who'd have thought that America's imploding housing market and mortgage meltdown would cause a worldwide financial collapse?
The US housing panic and mortgage meltdown will be felt around the world. The innovation of CDOs spread the US cancer everywhere.
As home prices crater, foreclosures soar and the US housing market implodes, people around the world will wonder how idiots like Casey Serin, Angelo Mozilo, Alan Greenspan, Bob Toll and David Lereah took down the global financial system.
We live in interesting times HP'ers, and you're at the center of the storm. Buckle up, it's gonna get bumpy.
With the risk of US mortgage defaults now dispersed globally, not just Americans but everyone else in the developed world has an interest in averting an escalation in US defaults.
There is also a global search for culprits. Alas it turns out that almost nobody is blameless.
The importance of US housing is hard to overstate. For at least a year now, a central risk on investors' radar screens has been that falling house prices would force US consumers to spend less. That could cut global demand. Housing data this week was that US house prices were falling and the overhang of unsold properties was rising.
