- Rights at Risk in Privatized Public Housing, by Jaime Lee, Tulsa Law Review, Vol. 50, 2015, pp. 759-801.
- Making Firms Liable for Consumers’ Mistaken Beliefs: Theoretical Model and Empirical Applications to the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Card Markets, by Alexei Alexandrov, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Apr. 27, 2015.
- Discrimination at the Margins: The Intersectionality of Homelessness & Other Marginalized Groups, by Kaya Lurie, Breanne Schuster, & Sara Rankin, Seattle University School of Law, May 6, 2015.
- Supply Restrictions, Subprime Lending and Regional US House Prices, by André K. Anundsen & Christian Heebøll, Norges Bank Working Paper 18, 2014.
- Global Liquidity, House Prices and the Macroeconomy: Evidence from Advanced and Emerging Economies, by Ambrogio Cesa-Bianchi, Luis Felipe Céspedes, & Alessandro Rebucci, IDB Working Paper No. IDB-WP-576.
Author Archives: Shea Cunningham
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered Goldman Sachs to pay National Australia Bank $100 million over $80 million in collateralized debt obligations.
- US Bank escapes liability under the False Claims Acts for filing FHA insurance claims without complying with HUD requirements.
- California federal judge grants summary judgment in suit against Bank of America for allegedly targeting minority neighborhoods with predatory loans in discriminatory lending suit.
Wednesday’s Academic Roundup
- Section 1031 Exchanges: Death of a Related-Party Exchange – Did ‘Butler’ Do It?, by Bradley T. Borden & Alan S. Lederman, Daily Tax Report Journal, Vol. 75, No. 1, 2015.
- The Future of Fannie and Freddie, by Mark A. Calabria, David J. Reiss, Lawrence J. White, Mark A. Willis, & Michael E. Levine, New York University Journal of Law and Business, Vol. 10, No. 339, 2014.
- The Home Selling Problem: Theory and Evidence, by Antonio Merlo, François Ortalo-Magné & John Rust, International Economic Review, Vol. 56, Issue 2, pp. 457-484, 2015.
- Investors Effect on Household Real Estate Affordability, by Sebastien Gay, Kreisman Working Papers Series in Housing Law and Policy No. 22.
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- The United States Supreme Court holds that debtors do not have an absolute right to appeal a denial of a proposed bankruptcy plan (mentioned in April 6 post).
- Maryland federal judge approves settlement between CFPB and Genuine Title and participants for illegal mortgage-kickback scheme (mentioned in May 4 post).
- CFPB settles with Florida law firm for nearly $12 million for collecting over $5 million in illegal fees. The firm enlisted homeowners to bring “mass-joinder” suits against mortgage lenders.
- Lead plaintiff in class action against Bank of America asks the Third Circuit to rehear case alleging violations of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act decided last month. The Third Circuit held that the FDCPA covers foreclosure complaints (mentioned in April 13 post).
- The Clearing House Association LLC, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce support Bank of America in its Second Circuit appeal of $1.3 billion fine for allegedly defrauding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through its mortgage program, “Hustle.”
- In stipulation, Massachusetts Federal District Court voluntarily dismisses claims against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other institutions in $5.9 billion MBS suit brought by Bank of Boston.
Friday’s Government Reports Roundup
- CFPB releases its 2014 Fair Lending Report, discussing its fair lending acts over the past year. It shows that the CFPB required institutions to provide over $224 million in remediation in 2014.
- A S. Census Bureau paper examines the effects of foreclosures on families during the financial crisis and in the years following.
- The Center for Housing Policy released a report “Impacts of Affordable Housing on Health: A Research Summary,” which discusses how Affordable Housing is correlated to better health than unaffordable, unstable and poor quality housing.
- The National Housing Conference released report: “Broadband Connectivity in Affordable Housing,” which highlights the need for internet access in affordable housing.
- HUD released the “2015 Worst Case Housing Needs” report.
Wednesday’s Academic Roundup
- Beyond Disparate Impact: How the Fair Housing Movement Can Move On, by Rigel Christine Oliveri, Washburn Law Journal, Forthcoming,
- Crowding Out Effects of Refinancing on New Purchase Mortgages, by Steven A. Sharpe & Shane M. Sherlund, FEDS Working Paper No. 2015-017.
- Have Distressed Neighborhoods Recovered? Evidence from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, by Jenny Schuetz, Jonathan S. Spader & Alvaro Cortes, FEDS Working Paper No. 2015-016.
- A Standing Question: Mortgages, Assignment, and Foreclosure, by Eric A. Zacks & Dustin A. Zacks, Journal of Corporation Law, Vol. 40, 2015, Forthcoming.
- Socioeconomic and Racial Disparities in the Financing Returns to Homeownership, by Tom Mayock & Rachel Spritzer.
- REIT Spinoffs: Passive REITs, Active Businesses, by Richard Nugent, Tax Notes, pg. 1513 & 1635, March 23 & 30, 2015.
- Asset-Level Risk and Return in Real Estate Investments, by Jacob S. Sagi, April 19, 2015.
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- Ocwen and Assurant settle with homeowners for $140 million in class action suit, in which the homeowners alleged that Ocwen received kickbacks by inflating premium costs for forced-placed insurance.
- New York’s Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed dismissal of suit against UBS AG for $30 million, brought by Hanwha Life Insurance Co. (a Korean corporation) claiming that NY courts do not have an interest in adjudicating the suit. Hanwha purchased $30 million in credit-linked notes from UBS that turned out to be worthless. It was trying to recover its losses because it relied on UBS’s advice in purchasing the notes.
- CFPB and the Maryland Attorney General filed suit and settlement consent orders against a title company and participants in an alleged illegal mortgage-kickback scheme.
- After the National Credit Union Administration Board (NCUA) filed a complaint against HSBC for failing as trustee of $2 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities trusts, HSBC claims that the regulator lacks standing to represent the trusts and is barred by Delaware’s three-year statute of limitations.
- Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank moved to dismiss fives suits from BlackRock Inc., Pacific Investment Management Co. and NCUA for allegedly failing to watch over 850 RMBS trusts as the trustees.