Housing-Crisis

Robo-Signing Scandal Exposes Systematic Foreclosure Fraud by Major Banks

| Importance: 8/10

Bank of America announces a nationwide halt to foreclosures after revelations that employees signed thousands of foreclosure affidavits without reviewing the underlying documents, a practice dubbed “robo-signing.” The scandal exposes systematic fraud in the foreclosure process, with …

Bank of America JPMorgan Chase Wells Fargo GMAC Mortgage Office of the Comptroller of the Currency +1 more foreclosure-fraud robo-signing housing-crisis regulatory-failure housing
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Placed in Federal Conservatorship, $187 Billion Taxpayer Bailout

| Importance: 9/10

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announces that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises backing $5 trillion in home mortgages, will be placed into conservatorship under the newly created Federal Housing Finance Agency. The seizure represents the largest government …

Treasury Department Henry Paulson Federal Housing Finance Agency Fannie Mae Freddie Mac +2 more housing-crisis bailout gse-failure taxpayer-cost housing
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New Century Financial Bankruptcy Signals Start of Subprime Mortgage Crisis

| Importance: 8/10

New Century Financial Corporation, the nation’s second-largest subprime mortgage lender, files for bankruptcy protection after its stock loses 90 percent of its value in weeks, marking the beginning of the subprime mortgage crisis. The company had originated $60 billion in subprime loans in …

New Century Financial Brad Morrice KPMG Wall Street investment banks Fannie Mae +1 more housing-crisis subprime-mortgages bankruptcy regulatory-failure housing
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