by Calculated Risk on 6/28/2011 10:19:00 PM

Two stories on the proposed BofA settlement with MBS investors:

• From the WSJ: BofA Nears Huge Settlement

Bank of America Corp. is close to an agreement to pay $8.5 billion ... with a group of 22 investors who hold mortgage-backed securities originally valued at $105 billion, including the giant money manager BlackRock Inc., the insurer MetLife

• From the NY Times: $8.5 Billion Deal Near in Suit on Bank Mortgage Debt

The settlement goes beyond the securities owned by these investors, however. It covers nearly all of Countrywide’s first-lien mortgages, which total $424 billion worth of original, unpaid principal balances. As a result, investors beyond those that are concluding the settlement stand to benefit.

This potential settlement started with repurchase requests from private investors based on Reps and Warranties for the mortgages included in the MBS. This was a complicated negotiation because these loans had significant risk layering (stated income, option ARMs, high LTV, and high debt-to-income ratios etc.) and these risk factors were disclosed to the investors. However, even with the disclosures, many of the loans were clearly defective; the underwriting didn't even meet the disclosed loose standards. I guess they should have disclosed that the underwriting standard was "fog a mirror, get a loan"!

Earlier on Case-Shiller:
• Case Shiller: Home Prices increase in April
• Update: Real House Prices and Price-to-Rent