In an earlier post (here), I discussed a recent case in which investors sued a subprime mortgage lender’s auditor, as one example of the ways in which aggreived parties may seek to impose gatekeeper blame on professionals for the subprime lending mess. A recent lawsuit filed against the prominent New York law firm
Where to Look for Subprime Risk: Everywhere?
As the subprime lending mess has unfolded, one of the more interesting challenges has been trying to figure out where the subprime risk is. This query is not simply a matter of figuring out which financial institutions engaged in subprime lending (although this surely is part of the equation). The more complicated part of the
The Subprime Lending Mess: Blame the Gatekeeper Time Already?
As I noted in prior posts (most recently here), the long-running options backdating blame game eventually morphed into an exercise that included suing the gatekeepers. Even though the subprime mortgage lending litigation machine has only recently gotten cranked up, it has already turned into yet another round of gatekeeper scapegoating. According to a September
D & O Underwriters Get Active in Underwriting Subprime Litigation Risk
In an earlier post (here), I commented on the D & O industry’s probable response the the litigation wave arising from the subprime lending mess, including the likelihood of increased underwriting around subprime exposures. The heightened scrutiny that I had surmised apparently is now a reality. An August 30, 2007 Bloomberg.com article reports
Will the Subprime Meltdown Affect the D & O Marketplace?
As I have previously noted (most recently here), the subprime mortgage meltdown has produced a wave of lawsuits, including securities class action litigation (which I am tracking here). Even thought we are clearly only at the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a very long-developing story, the question is already being asked: what
Will the Subprime Meltdown Affect the D & O Marketplace?
As I have previously noted (most recently here), the subprime mortgage meltdown has produced a wave of lawsuits, including securities class action litigation (which I am tracking here). Even thought we are clearly only at the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a very long-developing story, the question is already being asked: what
The REALLY Troublesome Thing about the Subprime Mess
According to data form the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), there was $10 trillion in outstanding mortgage debt at the end of 2006. Of this, subprime loans accounted for $1.4 trillion. Of that amount, about $1.08 trillion was packaged into securities that, according to the OCC, are not being held by banks,
All Subprime, All the Time
At about this time last year, it sometimes seemed to me as if all I was writing about on this blog was the options backdating scandal, but that was because there were backdating-related issues emerging on virtually a daily basis. Now it is beginning to feel as if all I am writing about is the
The Wave Grows: More Subprime Lending Lawsuits
The wave of subprime lending related lawsuits (which I am tracking here) continues to grow. On July 31, 2007, the Lerach Coughlin law firm sued beleaguered home lender American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (press release here) in a securities class action lawsuit. The suit alleges that American Home is a REIT that
Suing the Rating Agencies for the Subprime Mess?
In an earlier post (here), I examined recent academic research questioning whether the rating agencies have played a blameworthy role in the subprime lending industry, and speculating on the rating agencies’ possible litigation exposure. On July 19, 2007, the rating agencies potential litigation risk moved from supposition to reality when a shareholder of