Hey, anyone remember that 10-Year, Enormous Housing Bubble ???

[Will]

Get ready FOR ROUND TWO !!!


Hold on to your hat's boys, it's gonna be another WILD ride.


Holder Launches Witch Hunt Against Biased Banks

Originally Posted by IBD

In what could be a repeat of the easy-lending cycle that led to the housing crisis, the Justice Department has asked several banks to relax their mortgage underwriting standards and approve loans for minorities with poor credit as part of a new crackdown on alleged discrimination, according to court documents reviewed by IBD.

Prosecutions have already generated more than $20 million in loan set-asides and other subsidies from banks that have settled out of court rather than battle the federal government and risk being branded racist. An additional 60 banks are under investigation, a DOJ spokeswoman says.

No Job, No Problem

Settlements include setting aside prime-rate mortgages for low-income blacks and Hispanics with blemished credit and even counting "public assistance" as valid income in mortgage applications.

In several cases, the government has ordered bank defendants to post in all their branches and marketing materials a notice informing minority customers that they cannot be turned down for credit because they receive public aid, such as unemployment benefits, welfare payments or food stamps.

Among other remedies: favorable interest rates and down-payment assistance for minority borrowers with weak credit.

For example, the government has ordered Midwest BankCentre to set aside almost $1 million in "special financing" for residents living in predominantly black areas of St. Louis. The program includes originating conventional home loans at fixed prime rates for African-American borrowers "who would ordinarily not qualify for such rates for reasons including the lack of required credit quality, income or down payment."

The same federal order, signed last month, praises Midwest for adopting "less stringent underwriting criteria" while under investigation.

In the case against Citizens Bank of Detroit, settled in May, the U.S. decrees that "the bank may choose to apply more flexible underwriting standards in connection with the programs under this order."

Such efforts risk recreating the government-imposed lax underwriting that led to the housing boom and bust, critics fear.

"It's absolutely outrageous after what we've just gone through," said former Rep. Ernest Istook, a Heritage Foundation fellow. "How can someone both be financially stable enough to merit a mortgage at the same time they're on public assistance? By definition, you don't have the kind of employment that can support such a loan."

Justice March

Justice spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said the anti-discrimination notice "does not compel the banks to make loans to people who do not qualify." She said such measures are "essential to remedy the harmful effects of the banks' conduct."

But industry analysts fear Attorney General Eric Holder is rekindling an anti-bank witch hunt launched by Attorney General Janet Reno in the 1990s, when Holder served as her deputy.

Some blame that in part for the subprime boom, because banks were ordered to throw open their lending windows to credit-poor minorities. That crackdown spurred the American Bankers Association to distribute to its thousands of members "fair-lend ing tool kits" advising the adoption of more permissive underwriting criteria to help inoculate them from prosecution.

In the new prosecutions, Justice acknowledges in every case it did not prove charges of intentional discrimination, while banks have denied any wrongdoing. Many, in fact, earned outstanding ratings from anti-redlining regulators enforcing the Community Reinvestment Act.

Istook calls Holder's crusade an "egregious overreach by the government." He says many of the targets are smaller banks without the resources to fight a protracted legal battle.

The House Judiciary Committee plans to investigate.

"This is an expansion of the law," said a congressional investigator. "They're pushing the envelope as far as they can go in the enforcement of civil rights."

DOJ Demands 'Nondisclosure'

As part of settlement deals, prosecutors have required banks to sign "nondisclosure agreements" barring them from talking about the methods used to allege discrimination. Bank lawyers contend the prosecutors are trying to hide the shaky legal grounds on which the cases are built. "It's horrible what they're doing at the civil rights division," said Reginald Brown, a partner at Wilmer Hale in Washington, who has represented banks in connection to recent race-bias investigations. "They don't have any proof, just theories."

He added, "They want you to sign something saying you agree, under the condition of any settlement with them, that you won't disclose what their theories were. That's because their theories are loopy and wouldn't stand the light of day."

One such theory — "disparate impact" — holds that merely a difference in loan application outcomes is enough to prove racial discrimination — even if no intent exists on the part of loan officers to contrast based on the color of applicants, and even legitimate business factors — such as credit scores and down payments — help explain disparities in loan outcomes between white and black applicants.

Under this broad theory, banks have been accused of racism simply for failing to open branches or aggressively market mortgages in black neighborhoods — regardless of the demand for, or viability of, such loans in those areas.

Following this theory, the government has ordered several banks to advertise in black media and open branches in black neighborhoods, despite the weak economy.

Justice confirmed it has asked banks to keep its methodologies, which include computer-based statistical analysis, secret.

"In certain circumstances, when a bank has requested details of our analysis, the department has requested that a defendant agree to a confidentiality agreement," Hinojosa told IBD.

Critics say Holder's interpretation of civil-rights law is even more radical than Reno's.

For the first time, prosecutors are judging banks for the secondary impact their policies have on entire minority communities, not just households. And they're ordering reparations accordingly.

In announcing a recent $2 million settlement with Dallas-based PrimeLending, Civil Rights Division chief Tom Perez said, "We will require lenders to invest in the community that they've harmed."

Another Reno protege, Perez has compared bankers to Klansmen. Only difference is, he said, bankers discriminate "with a smile" and "fine print." He said this kind of racism, though more subtle, is "every bit as destructive as the cross burned in a neighborhood."

Perez has put in place an infrastructure to enforce "fair lending" — including a first-of-its-kind Fair Lending Unit staffed with more than 20 lawyers, economists and statisticians.

He's appointed a special lending cop to run it — Special Counsel for Fair Lending Eric Halperin, who also worked for Reno. Before returning to Justice, Halperin was chief Washington lobbyist for the Center for Responsible Lending, an anti-redlining group that urged banks to relax lending standards for low-income urban borrowers before the crisis.

Perez has required bank defendants to earmark potentially millions in funding for inner-city community organizers — who must be approved by Justice. Critics say lenders are being forced to bankroll Acorn clones that often exist just to shake them down for risky loans.

Hinojosa declined to provide a list of these "qualified organizations."

Perez is also prosecuting banks for "reverse redlining through the targeting of minority communities for predatory loans."

Istook finds it odd that the government is condemning lenders for doing too well what it pressured them to do in the name of diversity before the crisis. "Banks are damned if they do, damned if they don't," he said.

Also, critics say Justice is acting as a bank regulator by enforcing its own quota system for multicultural loans. The civil rights division has set "benchmarks" for minority lending, and will monitor bank lending volume and activity in that area among the banks it's suing.

In effect, Justice is using private banks to carry out affirmative-action lending, Istook says, a campaign he describes as "legal plunder."

Holder Launches Witch Hunt Against Biased Banks - Investors.com

[AC54ME]

Shoot Will,

What could be better than BHO and his idiot minions implementing round two of no job, no income, no problem than once these people are in the home the US taxpayer (via FHA) is allowed to live in the home, rent and payment free, for a year or so?

So they did.

Seemingly unaware of the nation’s debt crisis, the federal government is attempting to revamp its foreclosure-prevention program to make it easier for out-of-work homeowners to keep their homes.

On August 1, the Federal Housing Administration plans to extend the amount of time homeowners will be permitted to miss mortgage payments from four months or less to a full year. At that point, the full foreclosure process would begin, if necessary.

The foreclosure program began in 2009 to assist those at risk of foreclosure by reducing their monthly payments. Borrowers were permitted to make lower payments on a trial basis, but thus far, the program has been unable to convert them into permanent loan modifications. In the beginning, nearly two million homeowners were receiving the trial modifications, but since then, a large majority of the homeowners have dropped out of the program entirely.

Still the federal government is working to revise the plan, as President Obama and his administration have come to terms with the notion that the housing crisis has continued to negatively impact the economy. Obama recently admitted that the housing market “has been most stubborn to us trying to solve the problem.” He also confessed that the program instituted to help struggling families keep their homes was “not enough” and that the government needed to go “back to the drawing board.”

Recently, the administration announced its proposed changes. The Blaze writes:

The extended grace period only applies to FHA-backed loans, which are usually given to low- and middle-income borrowers and represent about 14 percent of all active mortgages and roughly 25 percent of new mortgages, and homeowners in the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

According to the Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, the extension will likely help only “tens of thousands” of homeowners. As a result of unemployment, officials estimate that approximately 3,500 homeowners with FHA-insured loans fall behind on their mortgage payments each month.

In 2010, 17,000 homeowners benefited from the government program that allowed mortgage payment delays.

Those accepted into the foreclosure assistance program are offered interest rates as low as two percent for up to five years by allowing families to repay their loans over a longer period of time. In total, the program can save families around $500 per month. Those with delayed payments, however, must repay them, with interest.

The federal government is also putting pressure on private lenders, as well as those controlled by the government, most notably Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to adopt a similar policy. Donovan explains, “Our hope is that this will have broader effects.”

Thus far, Fannie and Freddie have made no indication that they will do such a thing. The Blaze reports, however:

New rules [are] going into effect Oct. 1 for the mortgage giants to allow for long-term forbearance when a home or a place of unemployment has been destroyed; if the homeowner or a dependent has a long-term disability or illness; or if the borrower has died and the property is in probate. Mortgage payments can be put off for up to a year in those cases.

Freddie Mac spokesman Brad German noted, “It [the time] can be extended and has been extended for people for a variety of reasons.”

Those who have been accepted into the federal government’s foreclosure assistance program have criticized it as a bureaucratic mess. Some were disqualified because banks failed to maintain the proper paperwork, and didn't return phone calls.

According to the Obama administration, the three largest mortgage lenders — Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. — are at fault. The Blaze writes:

Last month, the Obama administration blamed the three largest U.S. mortgage lenders for the failures of the foreclosure program, saying they hadn’t done enough to help people at risk of losing their homes. The Treasury Department said it was withholding financial incentives that amounted to up to $1,000 per permanent loan modification, arguing the three lenders had incorrectly determined that many people were ineligible for assistance.

The mortgage lenders contend that the federal government is false in its claims, and indicates that there have been no audits in the first quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, as unemployment continues to be the driving force behind the foreclosures, homeowners were given no solace when July 6 reports show that the unemployment rate has increased to 9.2 percent.

The Media Research Network Center reports:

Truth be told, on July 8, the jobs report showed only 18,000 jobs added and plenty of other "lousy" news.

The unemployment rate also rose to 9.2 percent in June, and April and May data was revised to show 44,000 fewer jobs. The real unemployment rate (the figure including discouraged workers) also went up to 16.2 percent.

Job gains of only 18,000 in June were dramatically lower than most estimates, even Rick Santelli's (who came within 1,000 from the data last month). He gave the lowest estimate of all the CNBC panelists just before the Bureau of Labor Statistics report came out.

As an economic revival seems increasingly unlikely in the near future, analysts are forced to admit that a turnaround in the second half of 2011 is unlikely.

The New American’s Bob Adelmann asserts that there is really is only one remedy for the economic crisis:

The solution remains, as it always has, to stop the remedies and let the free market, driven by individual decisions, right itself. Let house prices continue to fall until they find a bottom, representing a “clearing” of the market. Let entrepreneurs innovate without the rules, regulations, and limitations placed on them. Let them keep the fruits of their labors if they guess right about fulfilling needs. Let firms hire without being hampered by minimum-wage laws and rules requiring inclusion in various benefit packages currently mandated by law. The resultant “release of pressure” will cure the unemployment problem.

That solution does not fit in with this administration’s desire to install a permanent nanny state. And as that rememdy continues to be ignored, America is treading ever farther down the dangerous path of Greece.



http://www.thenewamerican.com/econom...rtgage-program

[LATB]

this racist administration has got to go.

anyone who supports this president & his administration of thugs are anti-American...anti-capatilsm...anti-business, and themselves are a POS in my book...and can eat shit & die.

and some of them are right here on this forum.

How's that Will? I didn't call out anyone by name.

[Will]

Originally Posted by LarsAtTheBeach

How's that Will? I didn't call out anyone by name.

Off-color, mean-spirited, and completely within the rules.


See how easy that was?

[Low12s]

But, but, but, owning a home in the US is a right.

[RetiredSFC 97]

Hell they also have a new program for FHA that allows you to skip your payments for a year.

The catch

The lending institution still gets paid, so guess who gets to pay it?

[jhammons01]

The Dems will be along shortly to explain how Holder and Obumble inherited this mess from GWB and the evil Pubs..

Where is KenHorse with that housing bubble post???

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by Low12s

But, but, but, owning a home in the US is a PIA.

There, fixed it 4 U......which is why most of the homes look like shacks inside in a very short time span....

believe me when I say....Lars builds them and I REbuild them.....

U B ASStounded what any section 8 can do to a decent/nice house.....

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Low12s

But, but, but, staying for free in a home you aren't paying for in the US is a right.

Fixed.

[Joecooool]

Originally Posted by jhammons01

The Dems will be along shortly to explain how Holder and Obumble inherited this mess from GWB and the evil Pubs..

Where is KenHorse with that housing bubble post???

Who ultimately profited?

Even when the banks went tits up what happened?

American socialism (Its only for the corporations and wealthy).

[sanchez]

Originally Posted by Low12s

But, but, but, owning a home in the US is a right.

No one in this country "owns" their home. They only share in the appreciation rights of the property with the government.

[Will]

Originally Posted by Joecooool

Who ultimately profited?

Even when the banks went tits up what happened?

American socialism (Its only for the corporations and wealthy).

I'm not defending all these horse-crap corporate bailouts that NEVER should have happened, BUT....





Due to REPAYMENT by large corporations, the misnomer about bailouts helping wall street and not "main street" is just that - a misnomer.


The banks, financial firms, and auto-makers account for just under 1/3 of the NET one-time charges.


Fannie and Freddie, which existed essentially to give home loans to the some of the Democrat's strongest voting blocks, the lower income and racial minorities, account for 28% of the NET. And they did, in fact, succeed in their objective. The fact that racial minorities, who make up only 25% of our population AND still enjoy much lower average and median income than whites, accounted for 50% of all new home owners over the course of the bubble shows how "successful" they were. It was a fraud, and Fannie/Freddie needed bailing out, so essentially those new home owners were recipients of TARP funds, just after the fact, since they never would have been homeowners otherwise.


Another 30% of the NET one-time charges were things like tax credits and refundable tax credits, the mortgage help programs, aid to small businesses, etc.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by Joecooool

Who ultimately profited?

Even when the banks went tits up what happened?

American socialism (Its only for the corporations and wealthy).

another ignorant post from Joecoool

[Will]

Originally Posted by Will

Coming up with an insulting play-on-words with a public figures name is OK. Doing it with another forum user's name IS NOT.

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

We therefore ask that you refrain from name-calling or unnecessary baiting in your posts. Try to have your facts reasonably straight. Don't come in here after drinking too much. If you start a thread that is clearly designed to incite other folks to blow a gasket, don't start whining when they do so (and don't get mad at us for giving you a little cooling off period for starting a purpose-driven upheaval).

You know the drill. Play nice and have respect.

Remember folks:

-Stay on Topic
-Respond coherently
-Disagree respectfully

[LATB]

WTF? Will...

is your post aimed at mine?

[Will]

Originally Posted by LarsAtTheBeach

WTF? Will...

is your post aimed at mine?

Yes. I ASSUMED you merely made a TYPO and changed "Joefoool" to Joecoool.


I re-posted what I did IN CASE OF THE SLIM CHANCE THAT IT WAS NOT A TYPO ON YOUR PART:

Originally Posted by Will

Coming up with an insulting play-on-words with a public figures name is OK. Doing it with another forum user's name IS NOT.

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

We therefore ask that you [B][SIZE="4"]refrain from name-calling

[LATB]

Originally Posted by Will

Yes.

you mean to tell me...

I can't post "Joefoool" ?

WTF???

[AC54ME]

Originally Posted by Will

Due to REPAYMENT by large corporations, the misnomer about bailouts helping wall street and not "main street" is just that - a misnomer.


The banks, financial firms, and auto-makers account for just under 1/3 of the NET one-time charges.


Fannie and Freddie, which existed essentially to give home loans to the some of the Democrat's strongest voting blocks, the lower income and racial minorities, account for 28% of the NET. And they did, in fact, succeed in their objective. The fact that racial minorities, who make up only 25% of our population AND still enjoy much lower average and median income than whites, accounted for 50% of all new home owners over the course of the bubble shows how "successful" they were. It was a fraud, and Fannie/Freddie needed bailing out, so essentially those new home owners were recipients of TARP funds, just after the fact, since they never would have been homeowners otherwise.


Another 30% of the NET one-time charges were things like tax credits and refundable tax credits, the mortgage help programs, aid to small businesses, etc.

Will,

To add fuel to the fire;

Most still have not realized the ~$1 trillion 'stimulus' was money taken from the economy, and reinserted (by government) into the 'economy' (a falsehood as seen from your pie chart).

The actual affect of such an idiotic move on the part of the government - net ZERO gain to the economy.

Keynesian moves that have failed each time tried - and still the Democrats hold to them - why?

IMO, because fools and Progressives cannot seem to grasp simple economic concepts, and their governing mantra is to place more wealth onto and into failed policies they set up (I.e., no job, no income, no problem housing [ NJ, NI, NP]).

Overall, 50% of the 'stimulus' was additional monies paid to offset a majority of NJ, NI, NP.

Kind of like alimony - the screwing you get for the screwing you got - with no ongoing benefits.

And the screwing keeps on going - it is not stopped with the stimulus. FHA continues to 'pay' for owners that do no make house payments (1 year effective Aug 1), AIG, the two Fannies are but minimal examples.

Of course there is the other screwing of the taxpayer - states. Those that took money to pay for UE payments are now stuck with the continuing bill, those that took money for state expenditures (I.e., teacher, police, firefighter, etc.) 'retention' are now paying the tab on their own.

All on the backs of the taxpayer.

All funded with debt.

All reducing the recovery/expansion of the US economy.

In the future it is inevitable that many books will be authored on this matter - showing the complete idiocy of the policies and negative affects. In fact there are a few already on bookshelves.

The sad news - many were written decades ago. But the Progressives and politicians in general never read them - they were not on the required reading list on how NOT to destroy an economy.

[RetiredSFC 97]

Originally Posted by LarsAtTheBeach

you mean to tell me...

I can't post "Joefoool" ?

WTF???

I was banned at CF for calling Rock it man, Rock it Girl. 2 days. It was well worth it. But I agree it's probably not the best use of my wisdom.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by sanchez

No one in this country "owns" their home. They only share in the appreciation rights of the property with the government.

too bad the government doesn't share in the depreciation as well.