Category Archives: Financial Crisis
← Older postsThe Late Great Recession: How It Became Politicized In This Election Cycle
October 9, 2016 by Phil Querin
“Trickle-down did not work. It got us into the mess we were in, in 2008 and 2009,” Mrs. Clinton said, referring to the idea that tax cuts on high-income households can spur economic growth. “Slashing taxes on the wealthy hasn’t worked. And a lot of really smart, wealthy people know that.” ~ Wall Street Journal, September […]
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Posted in Federal Regulation, Financial Crisis, Miscellany, Politics | Tagged Financial Crisis, PoliticsThe Case of Carmen Segarra and “Regulatory Capture”
December 15, 2014 by Phil Querin
“The economic role of the state has managed to hold the attention of scholars for over two centuries without arousing their curiosity.” ~George Stigler, “The Theory of Economic Regulation,” 1971. Now that the unpleasantness of the financial crisis and Great Recession are being slowly relegated to the pages of economics textbooks, let’s ask: What’s changed […]
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Posted in Dodd-Frank, Federal Regulation, Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis, Legislation - Federal | Tagged Bank Ethics?Ocwen: The Servicing Industry’s Corporate Piñata
December 6, 2014 by Phil Querin
Ocwen, the servicing industry’s version of a corporate piñata, is, once again, stealing the wrong kind of headlines. In a November 8, 2014 article [“Firm Accused Of Illegal Practices That Push Families Into Foreclosure”] appearing on npr.org, here, the servicing behemoth is accused of – gasp! – gouging borrowers. No! Not Ocwen! How can that […]
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Posted in Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Miscellany, Q-Rants, Servicers | Tagged Ocwen, Q-RantsAltisource And Its New “Disruptive Enterprise Software”
August 31, 2014 by Phil Querin
In a recent article appearing at the online site “nationalmortgagenews.com” there appeared a short blurb titled “Altisource Opens Technology Office in India.” For those who have never heard of Altisource, they are one of the few major members on the Pantheon of Scoundrels, or POS, for short. On their website, they proudly boast: Altisource provides services […]
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Posted in Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Q-Rants, Real Estate/Distressed, Servicers | Tagged Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Market Conditions, Modification, Real Estate, Short SalesSunTrustMortgage – In Trouble With The Feds!
July 26, 2014 by Phil Querin
“SunTrust had no effective document management system in place to process and retain the borrowers’ applications and supporting documentation. When the HAMP applications poured in, SunTrust put them in stacks on the floor without organization. At one point, the stacks of opened and unprocessed HAMP applications were so voluminous that their weight buckled the floor.” […]
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Posted in Federal Regulation, Financial Crisis, Legislation - Federal, Loan Modifications, Miscellany, Q-Rants | Tagged Bank Ethics?, Banks, Modification, Wall StreetBarney Defends Frankendodd!
July 26, 2014 by Phil Querin
Former Congressman Barney Frank testified before the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services on Wednesday, arguing that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the voluminous set of regulations that followed shortly thereafter was a positive for the economy and safeguarded the American public from ever having to face an economic down turn […]
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Posted in CFPB, Dodd-Frank, Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis, Legislation - Federal, Miscellany, Q-Rants | Tagged CFPB, Dodd-Frank, Financial Crisis, Wall StreetFrankenDodd’s Collateral Damage: Banks Too Small To Succeed
April 6, 2014 by Phil Querin
As readers of this site know, I have no love lost for the Dodd-Frank Act. To review my prior rants, go to posts here and here. The gist of my objection to the law is that it casts too wide a net. It was created by politicians, bureaucrats, and regulators that had no real idea […]
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Posted in Dodd-Frank, Federal Regulation, Financial Crisis, Miscellany, Q-Rants | Tagged CFPB, Dodd-Frank, Financial Crisis, Wall StreetOregon MLO Licensing Exemptions for Manufactured Structure Dealers
February 22, 2014 by Phil Querin
Who would have thought that the financial crisis brought about by Big Bank Shenanigans would incentivize national and state regulators to impose Draconian rules on the sale of pre-owned manufactured homes? This relatively small industry is the last vestige of affordable housing in this country. This misguided effort is akin to regulating row boats after the Titanic […]
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Posted in CFPB, Dodd-Frank, Federal Regulation, Financial Crisis, Legislation - Oregon, Residential Housiing | Tagged CFPB, Dodd-Frank, Legislation - OregonBig Bank Bashing – Waahhh!
February 2, 2014 by Phil Querin
On January 28, 2014, Sergio Ermotti, chief executive of UBS AG, was fed up. While visiting swanky Davos Switzerland [referred to in a New York Magazine article as “…the annual self-congratulatory kaffeeklatsch known as the World Economic Forum”] he vented. Like Howard Bealle in Network, he was ‘mad as hell and not going to take this anymore!’ What […]
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Posted in Dodd-Frank, Federal Regulation, Financial Crisis, Legislation - Federal, Lenders, Miscellany, Real Estate Laws, Residential Housiing, Servicers | Tagged Bank Ethics?, Financial Crisis, Wall StreetBig Banks, Loan Fraud, and Moral Equivalence – Part One
October 18, 2013 by Phil Querin
Introduction. As the Big Bank scandals appear to be diminishing, I’ll admit that it’s probably time to get over the RATs (Rapers of the American Taxpayers), and move on to other more uplifting topics for this blog site. Perhaps I will….
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Posted in Financial Crisis, Legislation - Federal, Lenders, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Mortgage Insurance, Ratings Agencies, Real Estate General, Real Estate/Distressed, Residential Housiing, Subprime Crisis | Tagged Bank Ethics?, Banks, Financial Crisis, Market Conditions, Mortgages, Securitization, Wall Street
