subprime mortgages

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with civil fraud, saying they misled the government and taxpayers about risky subprime mortgages the mortgage giants held during the housing bust.

(American Sociological Association) A common reading of the recent subprime mortgage crisis pins the blame on bankers and loan brokers who extended mortgages to those who could not afford them, thereby inflating a housing bubble that was destined to burst.

While technically correct, that reading ignores the "politics of creditworthiness" that undergirded the rise of subprime mortgages, as explained in a new study.

A prominent hedge fund that made huge gains betting against subprime mortgages is reportedly being investigated by federal authorities for extending a $113 million loan to its founder so he could pay off a personal tax bill.

A prominent hedge fund that made huge gains betting against subprime mortgages is reportedly being investigated by federal authorities for taking a $113 million loan from his fund to pay off a personal tax bill.

Banking titan Citigroup Inc. is paying $75 million to settle civil charges that it misled investors about its potential losses from subprime mortgages as the housing bust hit in 2007.

The country's growing unemployment is overtaking subprime mortgages as the main driver of foreclosures, according to bankers and economists, making the crisis more complicated to unwind.

The hedge fund run by John Paulson, who foresaw the distress in subprime mortgages and reaped billions by betting against the related securities, has bought about 168 million shares of Bank of America Corp., according to a regulatory filing Wednesday.

State Street Corp. says a legal reserve of about $625 million it established two years ago may not be enough to cover claims and potential penalties related to fixed-income investments that included subprime mortgages.

Some of the very people who made a killing in subprime mortgages are now offering loan modifications for desperate homeowners, sometimes with unsavory tactics.

State Street Corp. on Monday disclosed in a regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission could bring civil charges against its main subsidiary for possible securities violations tied to past investments in subprime mortgages.