Friday, February 22, 2013

Emails Prove JPMorgan Committed Massive Mortgage Fraud



Bloomberg reports on the case.
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Emails From Dexia Lawsuit Show JPMorgan Committed Widespread Fraud
New York Times Dealbook
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has tried his best to suggest that the financial crisis was someone else's fault. But a batch of court documents released this week undermine this claim, indicating that the bank knew the mortgage investments it sold were seriously flawed.
According to the documents, which include emails and transcripts of employee interviews filed in an investor lawsuit by Europe's Dexia Bank, JPMorgan hired independent analysts to review the quality of the home loans it was packaging for sale prior to the collapse of the housing market.
That review found that 20 to 80 percent of the mortgages did not meet underwriting standards, Bloomberg reports.  These documents show that JPMorgan bundled these mortgages into complex securities anyway and then sold them to investors without disclosing their problems, according to Bloomberg and the New York Times.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Dexia, a Belgian-French bank, is being closely watched on Wall Street. After suffering significant losses, Dexia sued JPMorgan and its affiliates in 2012, claiming it had been duped into buying $1.6 billion of troubled mortgage-backed securities. The latest documents could provide a window into a $200 billion case that looms over the entire industry.
According to the court documents, an analysis for JPMorgan in September 2006 found that “nearly half of the sample pool” — or 214 loans — were “defective,” meaning they did not meet the underwriting standards. The borrowers’ incomes, the firms found, were dangerously low relative to the size of their mortgages. Another troubling report in 2006 discovered that thousands of borrowers had already fallen behind on their payments.
But JPMorgan at times dismissed the critical assessments or altered them, the documents show. Certain JPMorgan employees, including the bankers who assembled the mortgages and the due diligence managers, had the power to ignore or veto bad reviews.
In some instances, JPMorgan executives reduced the number of loans considered delinquent, the documents show.  In others, the executives altered the assessments so that a smaller number of loans were considered “defective.”
In some instances, JPMorgan executives reduced the number of loans considered delinquent, the documents show. In others, the executives altered the assessments so that a smaller number of loans were considered “defective.”
The court documents make clear that JPMorgan employees were well aware of these flaws and even exchanged emails about them.  For example, after a review finding that at least 1,154 mortgages were delinquent, JPMorgan told investors that only 25 loans were delinquent.
Continue reading...


Photos by William Banzai7


TEFLON JAMIE
This Bankster is Too Big Too Jail
The system is just too darn frail
These men are like God
We must accept fraud
Or else the whole system may fail
The Limerick King

Goldcorp CEO: 'Long Term Outlook For Gold Is Strong'














Flat to declining gold supply over the next 10 years coupled with increased investment demand.
Goldcorp CEO Charles Jeannes on quarterly earnings and the price of gold, Feb. 15.
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Related links:

Yesterday:

BLACKROCK: Where Will Gold Be In Three Months?

All Wars Are Bankers' Wars

All Wars Are Bankers' Wars

Beppe Grillo: 'The Only Thing Growing In Italy Is The Debt'


Meet Beppe Grillo, the comedian running for President of Italy.
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Beppe Grillo Holds Gigantic Rally In Milan
BusInsider
In this coming weekend's Italian election, there's obviously a lot of attention paid to Silvio Berlusconi, and whether or not he'll make a strong, comeback showing.  But the politician that a lot of folks are watching is Beppe Grillo, the head of his own "Five Start Movement" party, which has a very strong populist, anti-Eurozone, anti-banker bent.
If he has a huge showing in the election -- and the last polls had him in 3rd place, even ahead of Mario Monti -- then that could cause a major political disturbing.  Anyway, he had a huge rally in Milan tonight. Anywhere between 70k-100k showed up to hear him.

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Profile from Bloomberg:




'Debt is the only thing growing in our economy.'
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Beppe Grillo, the Italian comic poised to play a spoiler in this month's national elections, says the country's debt must be renegotiated.
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Interview with Beppe:




Comedian Beppe Grillo Wants to Be Taken Seriously
Beppe Grillo, founder of the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement, spoke to WSJ's Giada Zampano in Verona, as he hits Italian piazzas in his "tsunami" tour.
Further reading:
Beppe Grillo: The demagogic comedian who could be Italy’s kingmaker

Prisoners collecting millions in unemployment while behind bars (Government Incompetence At Its Best)

                       

Senators raise alarm over another possible sale of taxpayer-backed firm to Chinese


Fisker660.jpgFox News
Republican senators complained Wednesday that U.S. taxpayer dollars could end up boosting the Chinese economy, following reports that a Chinese firm is leading the pack of companies bidding for a majority stake in government-backed Fisker Automotive.
The troubled California-based electric car maker, which was backed by U.S. taxpayers to the tune of nearly $530 million, for months has been looking for a financial partner. Reuters reported earlier this week that China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is favored to take over, though Fisker is also reportedly weighing a bid from another Chinese auto maker. 
The development comes after Fisker’s main battery supplier — U.S. government-backed A123 Systems — was recently purchased by a separate Chinese firm.
Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, voiced concern Wednesday that Chinese companies are benefiting from U.S. taxpayers’ investment.
“Obama’s green energy investments appear to be nothing more than venture capital for eventual Chinese acquisitions,” Thune said in a statement. “After stimulus-funded A123 was just acquired by a Chinese-based company, it’s troubling to see that yet another struggling taxpayer-backed company might be purchased under duress by a Chinese company.”
Grassley added: “Like A123, this looks like another example of taxpayer dollars going to a failed experiment. Technology developed with American taxpayer subsidies should not be sold off to China.”
Despite the Reuters report, Fisker stressed that the bidding process is still very much open.
“The company has received detailed proposals from multiple parties in different continents which are now being evaluated by the company and its advisors,” Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher said in a statement.
The Obama administration also defended the Energy Department’s overall loan program, which originally extended the nearly $530 million loan to Fisker in 2010.
“The department’s loan program invests in advanced hybrid electric vehicles because they have the potential to significantly improve performance and fuel economy for American consumers. Every one of these loans has strict conditions in place to protect taxpayers,” department spokesman Bill Gibbons said. “The department is working with Fisker to determine the best path forward so the company can meet its benchmarks, produce cars and employ workers here in America.”
Fisker has tapped about $200 million of its U.S. government loan to date, while raising roughly $1 billion from the private sector.
The company has run into daunting financial problems since the original loan. Last year, the Energy Department stopped disbursements on the loan because the company purportedly failed to meet production and sales goals on its electric plug-in sedan, the Karma.
The lack of funds was followed by the company halting operations at a Delaware facility, a formerly abandoned General Motors plant.
According to local news reports, the state of Delaware continues to pay utility bills for that facility while waiting for Fisker to resolve its financial situation.
Fisker took another hit when A123 Systems filed for bankruptcy.
Reuters reported that, according to one unnamed source, Fisker is looking to strike a deal for majority ownership by mid-March.
FoxNews.com’s Judson Berger and Fox News’ Mike Emanuel contributed to this re