Monthly Archives: January 2011
Can We Shame the Biggest Banks into Finding a Conscience?
It sounds like a long shot, but New York City Comptroller John Liu (right) is willing to give it a try. Liu leads a group of public pension fund managers in five states who released a letter Sunday demanding the banks investigate their mortgage and foreclosure practices. The letters went to Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C). Liu’s group includes state retirement funds in Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina and Oregon and has $432 billion in assets. The campaign is nothing if not well timed. On Friday, bank stocks tumbled after a Massachusetts court […]
Fannie Mae Launches Internet-Based “Foreclosure Prevention Tool”
Federally-controlled Fannie Mae is hoping that by bringing anti-foreclosure resources virtually to homeowners in trouble, more foreclosures can be prevented. The GSE launched a new, interactive website called “WaysHome” designed to educate homeowners on options to prevent foreclosures and help them reach out for help before losing their home becomes unavoidable[1]. Amy Lewis, a foreclosure specialist at the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency hopes that the tool will help keep foreclosures down in her state. “We expect this year to be even busier than past years,” she said, adding that the interactive website will help people understand “how early actions […]
U.S. Personal Bankruptcy Filings Reached a 5-year high in 2010
Personal bankruptcy filings in 2010 reached their highest levels in five years and will continue to rise in the new year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. Consumer bankruptcies reached roughly 1.53 million for the 2010 calendar year ended Dec. 31, numbers compiled by National Bankruptcy Research Center for ABI concluded. The figure represents a 9% increase from 2009, when approximately 1.41 million consumer filings were recorded. U.S. Personal Bankruptcy Filings Reached a 5-year high in 2010.
