Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

Florida Realtors has announced the hiring of a new chief economist, with the addition of Dr. John Tuccillo, who is a former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Bank of America Corp. will continue to be under investigation, following a recent filing that alleges the big bank failed to properly inform investors as to risk factors associated with a pending lawsuit from American International Group. Hagens Berman announced that it will advance its look into BAC's investor dealings surrounding the bank's legal issues with AIG. BAC shares dropped significantly in the wake of the AIG filing, and it's estimated that the full damages equate to around 20 percent per share.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac released an outlook recently on the state of the housing sector and economy at-large that demonstrates a reduction in projections for demand.

Data from HMDA's annual survey indicates positive moves for minorities. The study's statistics examining lenders handling of minority borrowers shows a 5 percent decrease.

A suit filed Monday dispelled any notion that the Taylor Bean & Whitaker scandal ended with the lockup of the former ringleaders, according to multiple news reports. The trustee overseeing bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings for the now-defunct mortgage company went after auditors for failing to see red flags in their accounting processes. Deloitte & Touche LLP, the accounting firm responsible for audits at Taylor Bean & Whitaker, got slapped with suits on the hunt for $7.6 million in damages, according to news outlets.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency cut corners in the analysis it deployed to review and accept a $1.35-billion repurchase settlement from Bank of America over mortgage-backed securities for Freddie Mac, effectively ensuring that losses for the GSE would continue, according to a report released Tuesday by the agency's inspector general. The report concerns two buyback agreements between the mortgage giant and GSEs last year, with profit margins totaling $2.87 billion for the deal.

Investment company Chrysalis Holdings, LLC, has added a new face to its board of directors, recently appointing Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch to its membership.

A new acquisition is in the works for Ranieri Real Estate Partners LP (RREP) and WL Ross & Co. LLC. The companies are teaming up to purchase Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage.

Two financial institutions bucked a trendy crawl for bank failures by folding Friday, pushing the 2011 tally to 73. The FDIC swooped in to corral the fallout from the collapse of Nevada City-based Citizens Bank of Northern California and Norkfolk-based Bank of the Commonwealth, paying out for the former and keeping assets from the latter for disposition. California state regulators turned off the lights at Citizens Bank, while their Virginia counterparts shuttered the Bank of the Commonwealth.

Crooked cops, money-launderers, and criminal enterprises have made headlines in the mortgage business recently, with state and federal officials nabbing dozens for diverse fraud schemes.