Tuesday, July 01, 2008

NBC Nightly News on Countrywide meltdown

IPBiz has noted some "old" stories that have been reported on "NBC Nightly News" as "new." A June 30 story by Lisa Myers illustrated a different facet of NBC news reporting.

On June 9, Correspondent Lisa Myers criticized lender Countrywide for being slow to help homeowners in trouble. On June 5, the Federal Reserve granted permission to Bank of America Corp. to buy Countrywide for $4 billion.

On June 30, Lisa Myers discussed questionable loans made by Countrywide, including statements by one Mark Zachery and by one Lisa Blue suggesting outright fraud by Countrywide. There was mention of a blog site. Myers reported the BofA acquisition was to go through on July 1.

On July 1, Reuters reported the state of Florida (in a suit filed in Broward County on June 30), alleged Countrywide gave subprime loans to borrowers who could not repay them, loaned money at higher subprime rates to people who qualified for prime rate loans and engaged in other deceptive marketing and unfair trade practices, contrary to claims in its 10-K filings.

Forbes noted:

Worse off than Fuld is Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, who is foolishly planning to acquire Countrywide Financial on Monday, June 30, for $4 billion. It will cost Lewis perhaps half of the bank's $110 (remaining) market value if he goes through with this deal, according to one of Croesus' most valued informants during the subprime debacle. Bank of America is selling at half the price it was one year ago.

(...)

Countrywide is holding some $34 billion in worthless second mortgages and faces potential fines in the billions that will be owed to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if fraud is proved in its mortgage issuance, as is alleged in dozens of lawsuits.

Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the step-by-step meltdown in the financial system last February, warns that Lewis' wrong move will cost him his top position at Bank of America. Roubini also predicts that banks will continue to experience losses from the expected decline in the value of bonds backed by credit cards, auto loans, student loans, municipal bonds, commercial real estate and more than 400 failed regional banks.

***On old stories

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2008/06/nbc-nightly-olds-strikes-again_24.html

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2008/06/nbc-nightly-olds-strikes-again.html

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