Contact: John Hartgen
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(703) 739-0800
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href='mailto:jhartgen@abiworld.org'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
INVESTORS IN
SECURITIES BACKED BY COUNTRYWIDE’S SUBPRIME LOANS HAVE RIGHT TO
SUE AGAINST LOAN MODIFICATION ATTEMPTS, ACCORDING TO LATEST ABI QUICK
POLL
size='3'>January 14, 2009, Alexandria, Va.
size='3'>— Most respondents (48 percent) in a recent ABI Quick
Poll agreed that investors in securities backed by Countrywide’s
subprime loans have a legitimate cause of action against any attempt to
modify their loans under an agreement with the state attorneys
general. Thirty-eight
percent of respondents “strongly agreed” and 10 percent
“somewhat agreed.”
Thirty-four percent of
respondents did not agree that investors in securities backed by
Countrywide’s subprime loans have a legitimate right to sue
against any attempt to modify their loans under an agreement with state
attorneys general. Twenty-five percent “disagreed strongly”
and 9 percent “somewhat disagreed” that investors in
securities backed by Countrywide’s subprime mortgages had a
legitimate cause of action against any attempt to modify their loans
under an agreement with state attorneys general. Fifteen percent of
respondents did not know or had no opinion on the issue.
The Quick Poll was based
on a lawsuit filed by hedge fund Greenwich
Financial Services against Countrywide Financial Corp. (
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Greenwich Financial Services v.
Countrywide) demanding that Countrywide
compensate holders of some securities backed by mortgages if the lender
changed the terms of the loans. Greenwich Financial Services said that
it and other investors stood to lose money if Countrywide, now part of
Bank of America, modified loans under a settlement that it reached with
11 state attorneys general in October.
ABI members and members
of the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement:
“Investors in securities backed by Countrywide's subprime loans
have a legitimate cause of action against any attempt to modify their
loans under an agreement with state attorneys general (
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Greenwich Financial Services v.
Countrywide).”
ABI’s Quick Poll is
posted on ABI’s home page,
href='http://www.abiworld.org/'>
size='3'>www.abiworld.org
size='3'>. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a
question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit
href='http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/
to access the results of previous
ABI Quick Polls.
###
ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization
dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency.
ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased
analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 11,700
attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround
specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for
the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on
ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information,
visit
face='Times New Roman'
color='#0000ff'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.