Thursday, December 06, 2007

Cuomo Keeps Promise; Nails Wall Street With Subpoenas In Continuing Subprime Junk Mortgage Investigation

In New York City, Reuters reports:
  • New York state prosecutors have sent subpoenas to Wall Street firms seeking information related to the packaging and selling of debt tied to high-risk mortgages, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The subpoenas, sent by the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, requested information from a number of Wall Street firms. [...] Cuomo last month said he would subpoena investment banks as part of an expanding probe into the $10 trillion U.S. mortgage industry. [...] Last month, Cuomo sued First American Corp and one of its property appraisal units for colluding with Washington Mutual, one of the largest U.S. home lenders, to inflate property appraisals. A week later, he announced the office had sent subpoenas to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giant mortgage agencies sponsored by the U.S. government.

For more, see New York subpoenas Wall Street on mortgages. OFHEO