It’s been three years since the big banks crashed our economy, costing millions of American families their homes, their jobs and their life savings. Their “punishment” to date: taxpayer bailouts and huge bonuses for bank executives.
All that changed today when Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley put her game face on and announced the commonwealth is suing major banks and mortgage servicers for offenses ranging from predatory lending practices to outright fraud.
Coakley’s 60-page complaint is the nation’s first comprehensive lawsuit regarding the foreclosure crisis, naming major Wall Street players like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and Citi, along with the Mortgage Electronic Registration System. Sounds like it might be “game over” for the big banks, after all.
Housing advocates and foreclosure victims across the state applauded the lawsuit, calling it an important first step in holding these corporate predators accountable for their role in the economic crisis:
“The Attorney General’s lawsuit is great news for the people of Massachusetts,” said Lew Finfer, who has fought illegal foreclosures for years at the Massachusetts Communities Action Network. “This action will help provide restitution for the tens of thousands of Bay State homeowners who have been victimized by the big banks’ illegal lending and foreclosure practices – along with the communities who have seen their property values and revenue streams deteriorate as a result.”
Let’s hope Coakley’s bold stand serves as an example for her fellow Attorneys General across the country. We won’t hold our breath.
See today’s press conference in full below:
Gees, its good to see someone do something about these criminals.
Have you seen the Kucinich video on the Feds $7.7 Trillion secret loan to the big banks?
I’m so tired of the mentality I’ve heard over and over again that it’s 100% the lenders fault. Nonsense. Any loan failure blame must be shared between all parties — they all exercised bad judgment.
Now, if the entire deal was above board, honest, and clear to all parties, they share blame equally and both suffer, and we use bankruptcy and foreclosure to move on. *However* if the deal was shady, dishonest, and one party didn’t follow the law, they don’t share blame equally and shouldn’t necessarily both suffer.
I purchased a home in late 2006. The lies my mortgage broker told me would make me sick to my stomach. I knew he was lying; I have an advanced degree in financial mathematics. I could run the numbers myself. I also watched as he fudged numbers on the application to ensure I’d get a loan which was a stretch for me, and he all but outright instructed me to bribe the assessor with cash [which I did not do]. Because it was a new large development, I didn’t even have the option of using a different banker. So, based on my singular experience, I’m absolutely certain that there are plenty of distressed loans for which the banks deserve the blame and the suffering from the failed loan. Let’ em have it.