Following a bench trial, Judge Cote today issued a 361-page ruling in favor of FHFA (the conservator to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) in a case accusing Nomura and RBS of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages underlying various securities.  There had been 16 similar cases before Judge against various banks, all of which settled except this one.  Judge Cote resolved various disputes between the parties as to how damages should be calculated, but did not specify the final judgment amount. She instead directed the FHFA, which had initially sought over $1 billion, to submit a proposed judgment following the formula in her opinion. The opinion begins:
Continue Reading After Bench Trial, Judge Cote Rules For FHFA in Case Against Nomura, RBS

In an opinion today, Judge Swain ruled Section 13 of the Securities Act, which states that no action may be brought “more than three years after the security was bona fide offered to the public” was not extended by the so-called “FDIC Extender Provision” of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (or

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (or “FHFA,” as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) sued 18 banks in 2011 for misrepresenting the quality of mortgage bonds. All but Nomura and RBS have settled, for a total of around $18 billion.  The trial against Nomura and RBS begins Monday before Judge Cote. It will be

In an opinion dated Friday, Judge Cote granted partial summary judgment to the FHFA (the conservator for the two Government-Sponsored Enterprises, or “GSEs,” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), dismissing various banks’ affirmative defense that the GSEs had knowledge that the mortgage securities at issue were defective. The essence of her ruling was that, while the GSEs may have had generalized knowledge of problems with mortgage origination, there was no evidence that they had specific knowledge that the representations at issue were false:
Continue Reading Judge Cote Rejects, As a Matter of Law, Banks’ Defense That FHFA Knew Mortgage Securities Were Defective