Beware of the new lending bubble

What is clear to me is that nothing has changed except the government complicity in predatory lending practices is increasing despite the passage of Dodd Frank. A fact that keeps getting buried here is that Federal Law (Truth in Lending Act) puts the burden of determining affordability of an alleged loan product on the lender, not the borrower. That is the whole point of the Act — to avoid mistakes that borrowers might make with sales pitches that will result in financial ruin for borrowers and extreme wealth for underwriters on Wall Street.

When you see “CashCall” offering loans to people who have a FICO score of 585, we all should ask “how can they make money on alleged loans that are going to fail.” Legally the question becomes one that scares the hell out of the banks: having given a loan to someone who needed their help in making the down payment and who have a bad credit history, is the defense to the foreclosure action properly stated if “assumption of risk” or some other related defense is asserted?

The additional question is who is putting up the money for national advertisements on TV, radio and written media to get as many people as possible to take a loan they cannot pay. This is especially true when an alleged adjustable rate mortgage is involved with negative amortization and a teaser payment.

If the burden of affordability is on the lender and not the borrower and the loan resets to a payment higher than the entire household income the outcome is guaranteed to produce a “loss” that will be covered by multiple levels of derivative and hedge products that will turn the loss into a windfall for the intermediaries.

The effect of the foreclosure is that it rubber stamps plainly illegal behavior. The good faith estimate is completely  fictitious. The term of the loan is not 30 years; it is 3 years or whenever the loan resets. That means whatever fees are amortized over the life of the loan should be amortized over 3 years, not 30. So the cost of credit is falsely stated.

And of course the primary directive of TILA that the lender be disclosed is being completely overlooked. CashCall is not lending the money in the sense that they have no risk of loss. The value of the loan to CashCall must be in the fees it receives for acting as a sham conduit.

I also doubt if the promissory notes executed by borrowers in such a situation are negotiable instruments, especially when you consider the possibility of TILA rescission, which is a condition not stated on the face of the note.Shows how securitization worked. Partially correct. BEST IN CLASS

I give the following video a 90%+ rating. It doesn’t cover the sham conduit originator but otherwise it appears totally correct.

Shows how securitization worked. Partially correct. BEST IN CLASS

Check this out:

No Savings? No Problem. These Companies Are Helping Home Buyers With Down Payments
The Wall Street Journal

Lenders are coming up with novel ways for buyers to cobble together down payments. Read the full story

Tags: assumption of risk, CashCall, Dodd-Frank, foreclosure, lender, negotiable instrument, TRUTH
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