More Trouble Has Countrywide Teetering

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• Targeted in Bubble, Latinos Now Face Foreclosure Flood

  Jan 5, 09 9:35 AM CST
  The US housing crisis has hit particularly hard in the Latino community, the Wall Street Journal reports, which was targeted by both lawmakers and lenders—often with subprime and other risky mortgages—during the bubble. Hispanic homeownership swelled 47% between 2000-2007, and the foreclosure crisis has hit hard for many who saw buying a home as the pinnacle of the American dream. More »

• Fannie, Freddie Brushed Off Subprime Warnings

  Dec 9, 08 8:36 AM CST
  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can’t say they weren’t warned. Internal documents obtained by the Washington Post show that both companies had internal factions who stressed the dangers of subprime mortgages several years ago. At Freddie Mac, the former chief enterprise risk officer wrote that the loans could hurt borrowers and the firm. “The potential for the perception and the reality of predatory lending with this product is great,” he wrote. More »

• The Markets Have Evened Out When ...

  Oct 6, 08 9:14 AM CDT
  The main thing ailing the credit markets is a crisis of information, writes L. Gordon Crovitz in the Wall Street Journal, so it’ll probably end when we have some. Things may be looking up when…
  

  • Prices are discovered: Right now, there’s no demand for mortgage-backed securities, and hence no price. When we see some transactions that don’t involve the government, the picture will be clearer.
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• BofA Settles Loan Lawsuits With $8.4B Aid to Borrowers

  Oct 6, 08 9:12 AM CDT
  Some 400,000 borrowers with subprime and adjustable-rate mortgages from Countrywide Financial are in line to receive a share of an $8.4-billion settlement in a suit over deceptive loan practices, reports the Wall Street Journal. The deal between Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide July 1, and several state attorneys general may lower both rates and principal for some homeowners.
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• Housing Meltdown Not a Racial Issue

  Sep 27, 08 4:15 PM CDT
  Some conservative commentators have bypassed greedy Wall Street firms, reckless lenders, and a government asleep at the wheel to blame minorities for the credit crisis, Cynthia Tucker observes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This a misguided move for many reasons, she writes. For starters, the affirmative action lending programs they blame for many subprime loans don't even exist.
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