114 research outputs found
Congressional Oversight Panel\u27s Special Counsel, Adam J. Levitin Testimony Before the Senate Banking Committee Re: Problems in Mortgage Servicing from Modification to Foreclosure
Get PDFThe Great American Housing Bubble: What Went Wrong and How We Can Protect Ourselves in the Future.
No full textDescription based upon print version of record."The American housing bubble of the 2000s caused the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. In this definitive account, Adam Levitin and Susan Wachter pinpoint its source: the shift in mortgage financing from securitization by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to "private-label securitization" by Wall Street banks. This change set off a race to the bottom in mortgage underwriting standards, as banks competed in laxity to gain market share. The Great American Housing Bubble tells the story of the transformation of mortgage lending from a dysfunctional, local affair, featuring short-term, interest-only "bullet" loans, to a robust, national market based around the thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage, a uniquely American innovation that served as the foundation for the middle class. Levitin and Wachter show how Fannie and Freddie's market power kept risk in check until 2003, when mortgage financing shifted sharply to private-label securitization, as lenders looked for a way to sustain lending volume following an unprecedented refinancing wave. Private-label securitization brought a return of bullet loans, which had lower initial payments-enabling borrowers to borrow more-but much greater back-loaded risks. These loans produced a vast oversupply of underpriced mortgage finance that drove up home prices unsustainably. When the bubble burst, it set off a destructive downward spiral of home prices and foreclosures. Levitin and Wachter propose a rebuild of the housing finance system that ensures the widespread availability of the thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage, while preventing underwriting competition and shifting risk away from the public to private investors"--Introduction: In praise of homeownership -- Housing finance before the New Deal -- The New Deal mortgage -- The rise of securitization -- The boom and the bubble -- The bubble bursts -- Timing the bubble -- Demand or supply? -- Theories of the bubble -- The securitization daisy chain -- Information failure -- Post-crisis reforms and developments -- Principles for reform -- Meet Franny Meg.1 online resource (401 p.
Utah Law Review 2011 Number 2
No full textTABLE OF CONTENTS: SYMPOSIUM: THE CARD ACT IN PERSPECTIVE: ONGOING EFFORTS TO FIND BALANCE IN CREDIT CARD REGULATION The CARD Act in Perspective: Ongoing Efforts to Find Balance in Credit Card Regulation Christopher L. Peterson; Rate-Jacking: Risk-Based & Opportunistic Pricing in Credit Cards Adam J. Levitin; Young Consumer Protection in the "Millennial" Age Eboni S. Nelson; Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Swipe: A Critique of the Infancy Rule in the Federal Credit CARD Act of 2009 Andrew A. Schwartz;ARTICLES The Procedure of Election Law in Federal Courts Joshua A. Douglas; Uses and Abuses of Textualism and Originalism in Establishment Clause Interpretation Carl H. Esbeck; A Sobering Look at Why Sunday Liquor Laws Violate the Sherman Act Elina Tetelbaum; NOTES Victims\u27 Rights in Context: Protecting Crime Victims under the Utah Supreme Courts\u27 Analysis of Rule 506(d)(1) Thomas E. Goodwin;Talkin\u27 ‘Bout a Revolution?: Utah Overhauls Its Rules of Civil Discovery Marc Therrie
The world in six songs how the musical brain created human nature
No full textThe author of This Is Your Brain on Music showcases his theory of how the brain evolved to play and listen to music in six fundamental forms--for knowledge, friendship, religion, joy, comfort, and love. Preserving the emotional history of our lives and of our species, from its very beginning music was also allied to dance, as the structure of the brain confirms; developing this neurological observation, Levitin shows how music and dance enabled the social bonding and friendship necessary for human culture and society to evolve. Blending scientific findings with his own experiences as a musician and music-industry professional, Levitin also incorporates wisdom gleaned from interviews with icons ranging from Sting and Paul Simon to Joni Mitchell, and David Byrne, along with classical musicians and conductors, historians, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists.--From publisher description
Consumer Debt - Are Credit Cards Bankrupting Americans: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Commercial & Administrative Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 111th Cong., April 2, 2009 (Statement of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center)
Get PDFI urge the Congress to take up a comprehensive program of credit card reform legislation. While repealing parts of the BAPCPA is a key element to creating a fair and sustainable card lending industry, that alone will not eliminate predatory lending models. Instead, I strongly urge the Congress to consider mandating term standardization and price structure simplification for credit cards
Problems in Mortgage Servicing from Modification to Foreclosure: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs, 111th Cong., Nov. 16, 2010 (Statement of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center)
Get PDFThe mortgage foreclosure process is beset by a variety of problems. These range from procedural defects (including, but not limited to robosigning) to outright counterfeiting of documents to questions about the validity of private-label mortgage securitizations that could mean that these mortgage-backed securities are not actually backed by any mortgages whatsoever. While the extent of these problems is unknown at present, the evidence is mounting that it is not limited to one-off cases, but that there may be pervasive defects throughout the foreclosure and securitization processes.
The problems in the mortgage market are highly technical, but they are extremely serious. At best they present problems of fraud on the court, clouded title to property, and delay in foreclosures that will increase the shadow housing inventory and drive down home prices. At worst, they represent a systemic risk of liabilities in the trillions of dollars, greatly exceeding the capital of the US’s major financial institutions.
Congress would do well to ensure that federal regulators are undertaking a thorough investigation of foreclosure problems and to consider the possibilities for a global settlement of foreclosure problems, loan modifications, and the housing debt overhang that stagnate the economy and pose potential systemic risk
Modernizing Consumer Protection in the Financial Regulatory System; Strengthening Credit Card Protections: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 111th Cong., Feb. 12, 2009 (Statement of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center)
Get PDFTransparent pricing is a prerequisite for an efficient, competitive market and responsible consumer behavior. If the card industry were required to price its products in a straightforward manner, and it were less costly for consumers to switch cards, deceptive practices would be harder to maintain, Truth-in-Lending disclosures would be more effective, as consumers would be able to easily compare cards and make informed decisions about card usage, and competitive pressures would push down total card, prices, forcing the card industry to operate more efficiently, benefiting all consumers.
I strongly urge Congress to pass legislation that creates transparency in credit card pricing and that creates an on-going regulatory system that is capable of quickly evaluating and responding to innovations in the consumer financial products marketplace
Abusive Credit Card Practices and Bankruptcy: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary, 111th Cong., March 24, 2009 (Statement of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center)
Get PDFThe Marquette decision created a regulatory arbitrage possibility that set off a regulatory race to the bottom. Congress should act to close this loophole. There is a reasonable debate to be had on usury regulations, but that is one that should be held in legislatures, not determined by the Supreme Court\u27s interpretation of a hoary statute. A 1970s interpretation of an 1863 law should not be what determines 21st century consumer credit regulation. Congress should permit the states, the laboratories of democracy, to go further than S.257 if they wish in regulating high-interest-rate consumer credit. This essential consumer protection power should be restored to the states.
S.257 offers an important protection to consumers and responsible creditors, eliminates an incentive to game the bankruptcy system, and encourages responsible lending. These protections will help ensure fairer, safer, and sounder consumer credit. Now, more than ever, consumers and creditors need reforms that will create a fair and sustainable credit system. I urge the Congress to pass S.257
Helping Families Save Their Homes: The Role of Bankruptcy Law: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary, 110th Cong., Nov. 19, 2008 (Statement of Professor Adam Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center)
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