Irish Bank to pressure wealthy to repay millions

IBRC stands for Irish Bank Resolution Corporation

Wealthy professional classes are set to come under increased pressure as the IBRC attempts to recover hundreds of millions now due on money borrowed to invest in heavily loss-making property funds.

Many of these loans were taken out between 2005 and 2007, which means they are due to be repaid.

However, many of the property funds are heavily in the red, which is set to put even more pressure on already highly indebted barristers, solicitors, accountants, doctors, and other high net worth individuals.

The stakes are high for barristers in particular, because if a member of this profession is declared bankrupt, in some cases they could be barred from practising.

During the last few years of the property boom the private banking arm of Anglo Irish Bank was very active in lending to such individuals. These loans were subsequently invested in highly geared property funds, also put together by Anglo.

Many of the loans were issued on six-year terms, which means many are now due for repayment.

Read on.

Bank of America Loan Modification Horror Story Video Series Gains in Popularity on the Banking Bad You Tube Channel

When Southern California filmmaker De Veau Dunn went to Bank of America to apply for a refinance on his home loan, he had no idea he would be offered a loan modification that would quickly turn into a fiasco. The details of his situation were ultimately featured in BloombergBusinessweek. Dunn was asked to provide a death certificate multiple times, along with other financial documents, in order to complete the financial transaction with Bank of America.

“Initially, I thought the bank was making quite a few mistakes with all of their repeated, outrageous requests, but they continued this madness until I started broadcasting their shocking Bank of America loan modification horror story on social media,” said Dunn.

The “Bank of America Wants You to Die… Before they Modify” video that Dunn released has received close to 30,000 views on the Banking Bad Youtube Channel. When asked what prompted the making of the video Dunn replied, “Initially I did not want to make a video about this experience, but I felt I needed to produce this project in case there were other people out there that were silently enduring this type of abuse.” It turns out Dunn’s instincts were right, as his first video has received quite a number of emails and remarks on the Banking Bad YouTube channel. Most of the comments and emails Banking Bad has received mentioned the same types of problems with loan modifications that he highlights in his first video.

Dunn says, “Ultimately, I am very happy to be a part of a movement that sheds light on abuses by banking institutions that might have otherwise been swept under the rug or forgotten. It feels good knowing that I am helping other homeowners in the process of modifying their home loans to achieve some degree of economic relief.”

Read on.

JPMorgan Sued for Fraud by CIFG Assurance Over CDOs

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) was sued by CIFG Assurance North America Inc., which says it lost more than $100 million on collateralized debt obligations created by Bear Stearns, the investment bank JPMorgan acquired in 2008.

Bear Stearns stocked the CDOs with toxic mortgage securities and profited by betting against the portfolios, the insurer said in a complaint filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court. Bear Stearns told CIFG that independent firms had selected the collateral, New York-based CIFG said.

Read on.

HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL | FULL DEPOSITION OF BRIAN T. MOYNIHAN IN THE MATTER OF: MBIA INSURANCE CORPORATION V. COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS, INC

In this long-awaited interrogation – Bank of America has been fighting to keep Moynihan from being deposed in this case for some time – Moynihan does a full Star Trek special, boldly going where no deponent has ever gone before, breaking out the “I don’t recall” line more often and perhaps more ridiculously than was previously thought possible. Moynihan seems to remember his own name, and perhaps his current job title, but beyond that, he’ll have to get back to you.

The MBIA v. Bank of America case is one of the bigger and weightier lawsuits hovering over the financial world. Prior to the crash, MBIA was, along with a company called Ambac, one of the two largest and most reputable names in what’s called the “monoline” insurance business.

More here…

Full deposition below…

 

View this document on Scribd

Former branch manager sues Wells Fargo, alleging his firing was payback for reporting a superior’s cocaine use and sexual harassment

The former manager of the Bluffton Wells Fargo branch is suing the bank, alleging his firing was payback for reporting a superior’s cocaine use and sexual harassment.

 

Mark Stroud was among nine branch employees fired in July by the same bank executive, Scott Zardenetta, he reported to the bank’s human resources department for violating the company’s code of ethics, the lawsuit says.

The suit says he followed procedures common at other Wells Fargo branches and was wrongfully terminated in violation of the company’s policies.

“The aforesaid termination was conducted in retaliation for the complaint made to HR by Stroud concerning Scott’s conduct and sexual harassment of certain Wells Fargo employees,” the lawsuit alleges.

Seven of the nine employees fired by the bank filed a lawsuit last month that made similar allegations. Both cases are being handled by John Bowen of the Hilton Head Island firm Laughlin & Bowen.

Stroud filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in August and received a “notice of right to sue” from that agency this month. His lawsuit was filed Nov. 19. It seeks actual lost wages, future lost wages and damages, including compensation for emotional pain and injury.

Attempts Monday to reach Stroud for comment were unsuccessful.

Wells Fargo, district manager Scott Zardenetta and investigator Mark Owens are named as defendants in both lawsuits.

Wells Fargo has not yet received a copy of the suit, and a company spokesman declined to comment.

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/11/26/2291415/former-branch-manager-sues-wells.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/11/26/2291415/former-branch-manager-sues-wells.html#storylink=cpy

Bank Of America Is Really Good At Losing Documents, Really Bad At Believing My Mother Is Dead

Consumerist reader Matt is still in college but he’s already having to deal with the loss of his mother, who passed away on Oct. 1. Since then, he has been going through the process of notifying credit card companies, utilities, and everyone else.

“All of them were fairly cooperative and, in fact, Capital One and Chase were even helpful!” Matt tells Consumerist.  “Everyone at Bank of America, however, has jammed their head up their asses and there’s no hope of getting it free.”

Matt couldn’t locate any of his mother’s mortgage documents, so he had to call BofA to see what they could tell him. Regular readers of Consumerist can probably guess that the bank put impossible demands on Matt:

The first call ended after the associate we were speaking to told us that the only person they could talk to was the person who was listed on the mortgage:  my mother.

Since she was deceased, that’s obviously not possible, so we explained “death” to the person we were speaking to.  They said they had to talk to my mother, we decided it was hopeless, and gave up.

We later got on the phone with someone else who said to send them a copy of the death certificate.  They lost that one.  Then they lost the next one.  Then they lost the third, hand-delivered, death certificate.  They finally managed to get the death certificate to a filing cabinet on the fourth try.  They sent a letter acknowledging they had received the death certificate, but still they asked to speak with the person on the mortgage.

Somewhere around the fourth attempt at sending the death certificate, BofA’s internal debt collectors started calling for their missing mortgage payments.

Read on.

Out-of-sync mortgage laws create housing recovery hurdle

Mortgage laws vary state by state creating a convoluted process that is stalling a full housing recovery, a new study from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University said this week.

The study suggests states with relatively short foreclosure processes have since moved on from the housing crisis, while states with foreclosure delays and long, drawn out processes make it more difficult for housing to recover from the downturn.

The differences are obvious to Andra Ghent, who spearheaded the academic study at Arizona State.

Some states use the judicial foreclosure process, where a court approval is required, while others require non-judicial foreclosure procedures, said Ghent, an assistant professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business.

Other states require a great deal of paperwork, including the original promissory note, while different jurisdictions enforce a longer redemption period for the borrower who falls behind on payments.

Read on.