Latest News May 8, 2008 The Subprime Lending Crisis: Causes and Effects of the Mortgage Meltdown May 7, 2008 Proposal Would Address Credit Card, Overdraft Practices May 1, 2008 Due Diligence and Risk Management Key to Reform of Securitization Apr 2, 2008 Treasury Releases Blueprint to Overhaul Financial Regulation Mar 12, 2008 Foreclosure Rescue Scams Rise as Foreclosure Numbers Soar Mar 5, 2008 Senate Banking Chair Urges Regulators to Take Action   Archive Contact CCH Focus CCH Focus CCHFocusEditor@cch.com   CCH Customer Support Phone: 800.449.6435 Subscriber Invitation Visitors to CCH Focus are invited to submit articles for future issues. Analyses, viewpoints, letters to the editor, manuscripts, legal memoranda and other original materials that could be adapted for publication are welcome. Submissions or queries may be sent to   Serena Lynn, Editor 2700 Lake Cook Road, Riverwoods, Illinois 60015 Phone: 847.267.7087 Fax 847.267.7776 CCHFocusEditor@cch.com

The Subprime Lending Crisis: Causes and Effects of the Mortgage Meltdown By Katalina M. Bianco, J.D., CCH Writer Analyst, CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, CCH Mortgage Compliance Guide and Bank Digest View Printable Version of this White Paper INTRODUCTION The subprime mortgage crisis, popularly known as the “mortgage mess” or “mortgage meltdown,” came to the public’s attention when a steep rise in home foreclosures in 2006 spiraled seemingly out of control in 2007, triggering a national financial crisis that went global within the year. Consumer spending is down, the housing market... Read full article Proposal Would Address Credit Card, Overdraft Practices Reprinted from the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter. The Federal Reserve Board, Office of Thrift Supervision and National Credit Union Administration have announced that they will be proposing rules to prohibit unfair practices regarding credit cards and overdraft services that would, among other provisions, protect consumers from unexpected increases in the rate charged on pre-existing credit card balances. The rules, proposed for public comment under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), also would forbid banks from imposing interest charges using the "two-cycle" billing method, require that consumers receive a reasonable amount of time to make their credit card payments and prohibit the use of payment allocation methods that unfairly maximize interest charges. Protections for consumers that use overdraft services offered by their banks also are included. "The proposed rules are intended to establish... Read full article Due Diligence and Risk Management Key to Reform of Securitization Reprinted from the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter. Enhanced investor due diligence and strengthened risk management are the keys to the future of "originate and distribute" securitization, in the view of a senior Financial Services Authority (FSA) official. In remarks to the Euro 50 in London, Banking Director Thomas Huertas also said that banks and financial institutions that held senior super tranches and did not distribute them quickly enough took on massive amounts of unmanaged liquidity risk. The director joined the growing consensus that originate and distribute securitization is here to stay but must be completely overhauled, stating that there is simply no turning back to the world of originate and hold. Analogizing securitization to nuclear energy, he said that its future depends on whether it is effectively managed and regulated. Credibility The first thing... Read full article Treasury Releases Blueprint to Overhaul Financial Regulation By John M. Pachkowski, J.D., Editor, CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter and Bank Digest; Author, Anti-Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy: Compliance and the USA PATRIOT Act; Co-Author CCH Financial Privacy Law Guide. Contributing author, Sarah Borchersen-Keto, CCH Washington News Bureau. After 75 years of a “largely knit together” regulatory structure, the Treasury Department unveiled its Blueprint for a Modernized Financial Regulatory Structure on March 31, 2008. The Treasury Department issued the Blueprint... Read full article Foreclosure Rescue Scams Rise as Foreclosure Numbers Soar By Katalina M. Bianco, J.D., Editor, CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, CCH Mortgage Compliance Guide and Bank Digest. With foreclosure rates up 75 percent in 2007 and continuing to escalate, the number of foreclosure rescue scams also are increasing. Recent reports indicate that more than 1 percent of all U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure during 2007, with 405,000 of those households losing their homes. As these homeowners struggle to prevent losing their homes, they also are facing the challenge of foreclosure rescue scams, which are rising along with foreclosure rates. Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Lures Foreclosure rescue firms use a variety of tactics to find homeowners in danger of foreclosure. Some look through public foreclosure notices in newspapers, on the Internet or through public files at local government offices, and then send personalized letters... Read full article Senate Banking Chair Urges Regulators to Take Action By Sarah Borchersen-Keto, CCH Washington News Bureau. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., urged banking regulators to move beyond merely studying the problems sparked by the subprime mortgage crisis, and to produce “meaningful and substantial action” as soon as possible. At a March 4 committee hearing into current conditions in the banking industry, Dodd pledged to reconvene the panel of regulators within 60 days in order to hear what steps are being taken to address lax oversight of underwriting standards. Other issues that regulators need to consider are whether the assumptions underlying Basel II need to be reconsidered prior to its implementation, and whether changes need to be made to supervision in bank risk management. “My sense of urgency about this is pretty strong,” Dodd said. He also questioned the role that regulators played as the subprime mortgage... Read full article