By Andrew Gordon
What happens to the pharmacist who fills a prescription without a doctor’s signature?
Or to the gun seller who falsifies information on a buyer’s application?
These people are licensed. It means they’ve been trained in how to dispense drugs or sell guns. And it also means that they have a legal obligation to follow mandated procedures.
If they don’t, they could go to jail.
Of course, that’s only if they’re caught ...
This brings us to the mortgage business.
Is there anyone left in America who doesn’t think there was fraud committed by licensed lenders and brokers? And that this fraud took place on a massive scale?
I bet you either know somebody who is in danger of losing their home, or you have heard stories from friends and family of people in this predicament.
I had lunch with a friend of mine on Saturday. He was telling me about his father who bought a house in Florida for more than $300,000. He had been badgered almost every single day by brokers encouraging him to take out a home mortgage. He finally relented.
He was working part-time. How he could qualify for a $300,000 loan is anyone’s guess.
But I think guessing can get us pretty close to the truth. Some of the numbers on the loan application were inflated. They had to be to get the paperwork approved by the bank’s automatic underwriting system.
Now I don’t know this for a fact. And I don’t know who did the inflating – my friend’s father or the broker. But even if it were my friend’s father, I suspect just a little double-checking by the broker could have unearthed much more modest numbers.
My friend’s father has been in and out of the hospital recently. He fell behind on his payments long ago. Now his house is in foreclosure and on the auction block for $50,000. So far, there have been no bids.
This is a tragic situation. And variations of it are being played out all over the country. But the variations can be very different. Some foreclosed homes were vacation homes. Some were new homes. Some were upgrades over previous homes. And some were bought by investors who wanted to sell them quickly for a handsome profit.
We have some very sophisticated buyers caught up in the housing contraction. And some are on the other end of the spectrum. We have wealthy buyers and buyers of very modest means. We have buyers in booming markets (like Phoenix) and buyers in depressed areas (like parts of Detroit and Cleveland).
Some of these buyers are more to blame than others. And I’d say that my friend’s father wasn’t entirely blameless. But regardless of the degree of culpability, all of them were enabled by a supposedly lax lending system. But “lax” doesn’t do justice to what happened.
How about “deliberately sabotaged?”
A memo just came to light that shows just how “lax” those standards were. Its title is “Zippy Cheats & Tricks.” Zippy is Chase’s automatic underwriting system for mortgage loans. Loans must be approved by Zippy to go through.
“Never fear,” says the memo. “Zippy can be adjusted (just ever so slightly.)” All brokers had to do was group tips, bonuses and other stuff into base income. If that didn’t work, says the memo, just inflate stated income by “$500 to see if you can get the finding you want.”
In the interests of disclosure, I have to admit that Chase was the bank that approved my “no-doc” refinancing loan in the mid-1990s.
You see, I’d do anything to avoid paying taxes. (I know I’m not alone in this. I just think that I should get to spend the money I earn ... or at least as much of it as possible.)
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Skinning the Mortgage Market
Monday, 31 March 2008
Five Investing Headlines for April Fool's Day
Here are Five mutual fund headlines you're unlikely to see anytime soon.
Fidelity to Liquidate 43 "Unnecessary" Funds
Boston-based Fidelity investments today announced that it is taking a knife to its sprawling fund lineup. According to executive vice president Klaus Shave, the firm has come to the conclusion that it simply offers too many funds. In an interview Shave said, "A Nordic Fund? What were we thinking? It's much easier to gather assets in a $30-billion small-cap fund." Shave also sought to debunk rumors that the firm was set to launch a series of funds modeled after the popular "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. "There is not going to be a Fidelity Mordor Fund. I don't know how that story got started. It's just not true," he said.
Vanguard Launches Retirement Funds for Future Centuries
In a bid to literally consign the competition to the dustbin of history, Vanguard's head of strategic planning Xavier Moolah revealed that the firm was launching new retirement offerings with target dates of 2100, 2180, 2225, and 2310. "With life expectancies increasing, your descendants need to plan far ahead," Moolah observed. He added that the compounding effects from investing before you are conceived are even greater than if you were to invest in your childhood. "We believe this new suite of funds demonstrates our commitment to not only young investors, but also hypothetical children," said Moolah.
Ordinary Investor Understands Fund Prospectus
In a startling development, Ira Smolensky of Monmouth, Ill., today became the first person to fully comprehend the language published in a mutual fund's prospectus. "It's better than winning the lottery," said Smolensky, who officials confirmed has not previously been institutionalized. The Monmouth resident, who is slated to be honored at the town's annual Prime Beef Festival, expressed surprise at the discovery of the fund's board of directors. Said Smolensky, "A group of individuals who represent my interests? Who knew?" Meanwhile, fund company lawyers were reportedly meeting to devise ways to ensure nobody would duplicate Smolensky's feat.
American Funds Dumps Portfolio Counselor System in Favor of Star Managers
Los Angeles-based American Funds today announced that it was doing away with its system of running funds with multiple portfolio counselors, opting instead for high-profile "star" portfolio managers who oversee funds individually. To get the effort underway, spokesman Russell Sprout disclosed the hiring of fund management wunderkind Chris Lahiji. Lahiji, the 21-year-old former manager of Frontier Equity (FEFPX) , recently stepped down at his former charge. "Lahiji is a great fit for us," said Sprout. "We've already got too many people with too much experience."
Bill Gross Gives Up: "The Competition Is Too Tough"
With tears in her eyes, PIMCO spokeswoman Tia Dropps announced today that Bill Gross, the legendary manager of PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX) and other bond funds, has called it quits. "The brutality of the bond market and the cacophony of voices claiming their superiority have finally had an impact," said Dropps. Apparently, Gross has come to the conclusion that it's just not healthy to spend so much time worrying about whether PIMCO is on top. "Besides," added Dropps, "with all his competitors comparing themselves to Gross, telling everyone how much better they are, it just wears you out after awhile." She also mentioned the frequent media references to Gross being the Bond King as a factor in the decision. "It's not easy being king," she noted. "He wants to just be a duke or an earl for a while."
