The legal and financial pressures on Countrywide Financial Corp. mounted Wednesday as officials in three states filed separate legal actions against the mortgage lender.
The actions, by the attorneys general of California and Illinois, and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, came on the same day that Countrywide shareholders voted to approve the sale of the company to Bank of America Corp. The all-stock transaction was valued at $4 billion when Bank of America agreed to buy Countrywide in January. But Bank of America shares have since slipped, and the value has fallen to about $2.8 billion. The transaction is scheduled to close on July 1.
The California action, filed in state court by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., alleges that Countrywide used "misleading marketing practices" to steer home buyers into "risky and costly loans" without regard to borrowers' ability to pay. Mr. Brown alleges that Countrywide, based in Calabasas, Calif., was driven by an effort to boost the company's market share and fill demand from Wall Street for loans that could be packaged into securities. The 46-page complaint also names Countrywide Chairman Angelo Mozilo and the company's president, David Sambol.
All states are seeking restitution for borrowers. If the states can persuade the courts to grant restitution, it "could be a staggering blow against Countrywide," said Kurt Eggert, a law professor at the School of Law at Chapman University, in Orange, Calif. "Countrywide could be required to give back its profit on all those loans and conceivably give back houses on which it has foreclosed."
If you would like to read this entire story, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/media/placements/pressuresmount.htm
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment