FDIC Loan Report and Plan C: Nearly Half of the $7.7 trillion in Loans Outstanding at FDIC Insured Banks are in the form of Commercial Real Estate. USPS Contracting CRE Space. Drop in Restaurant Traffic.
The commercial real estate debacle is heating up. Although the market is cheering the better than expected drop in second quarter GDP, much of the reason for a less than spectacular fall came from the “G” in the equation, government spending. By the way, we revised Q1 GDP lower to -6.4 percent but not much […]
S&L Crisis Part Two: Are We Repeating Mistakes from the S&L Crisis? Accounting Sleight of Hand and Mortgage Fraud.
During the savings and loan crisis (S&L crisis) of the 1980s and 1990s a total of 745 thrifts failed. If we look at the history of the crisis, total losses were largely saddled to the American taxpayer. It is estimated that some $160.1 billion was the total bill for the crisis with roughly $124.6 billion […]
Underwater Mortgages: HUD Announces Eligibility for up to 125 Percent Loan to Value. Why This is Smoke and Mirrors Financial Theatre.
Only a few days ago HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that mortgages with a 125 percent loan to value would now be eligible for the Home Affordable Refinance Program. I received a few e-mails from readers dismayed about this announcement since it would be troubling for the government to simply buy mortgages that are severely […]
California Foreclosure Prevention Act: Creating an Army of Lifetime Renters in California.
On June 15th California implemented another foreclosure moratorium. The California Foreclosure Prevention Act (CFPA) was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger which adds another 90 days to the foreclosure process. If you recall, a similar law was put into place in 2008 and turned out to be an utter failure. So what do we do? […]