Predatory lending, the origination of loans with abusive terms to homeowners, is rampant in the subprime mortgage market. In the last few years, many states responded to this problem by enacting consumer protection laws. Large segments of the lending industry have opposed these laws. In large...

This article provides the most comprehensive statutory analysis to date of the federal government's implied guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's financial obligations. Fannie and Freddie together have $4.45 trillion in mortgage-related obligations. The magnitude of their obligations can...

The federal government recently placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-chartered, privately owned mortgage finance companies, in conservatorship. These two massive companies are profit-driven, but as government-sponsored enterprises they also have a government-mandated mission to...

This article provides a brief introduction to the role of the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac duopoly in the American housing market. First, it defines the ldquo;government sponsored enterprise,rdquo; which is the type of hybrid public/private entity that Fannie and Freddie are and provides an...

This is an entry on the Regulation of Subprime and Predatory Lending for THE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HOUSING AND HOME (Elsevier Ltd, 2010). This entry provides a brief introduction to the explosive development of the subprime mortgage market. It then enumerates the abusive practices that...

This essay is a lightly-edited version of a talk given at the University of Maryland School of Law and the Journal of Business amp; Technology Law's Conference on the Subprime Meltdown in October 2008. It briefly reviews the reputational risk literature and applies it to the rating agency...