Mortgage Essays (Examples)

Mortgage Communications Director

Colleagues:

We have before us both a significant challenge and a tremendous opportunity. The first few weeks of a new operation can establish the course that the company will follow for years to come and so I'm very excited to have been hired as the new Director of Communications for this group of mortgage professionals who are taking over this mortgage group. We have a number of key issues immediately before us and I will be issuing a series of memos to address these in turn.

This first memo addresses the most pressing need facing our Group, which is the need to raise $3 million in capital to complete the acquisition. This must be done quickly or a number of key personnel will be lost. While the company has some real assets - including its name, its current contractual agreements and its IT system, the real worth…

nd we must take into consideration what would happen if, somewhere down the line, we encountered the very real possibility of changed financial circumstances.

The financial knots we're tying ourselves into now, as we scramble to purchase homes and wind up owning less of them, can have serious long-term ramifications. Because today's overall tighter finances often necessitate putting off major purchases, many adults don't buy their first home until they're well into their thirties or even forties.

s a result, those thirty-year mortgage payments follow us right into retirement, hanging around even as rising health care and tuition expenses for college-aged children begin to spike. s a result, we discover too late that the asset we gambled everything to acquire because it was going to see us through retirement is instead pushing that retirement further and further away. lready, an increasing number of seniors are borrowing against their homes, accumulating…

Adam Tanner, San Francisco Suburb Vallejo Files for Bankruptcy, REUTERS, May 23, 2008;

Fishbein & Woodall.

Michael M. Phillips, to Help Broke Homeowners, He's Taking the Law into His Own Hands, WALL ST. J., June 6, 2008, at A1.

Deficiencies in Organizational Management That esulted in the Economic Meltdown

Since the onset of the global financial crisis, everyone wanted to know what happened and what caused the entire situation. Analysts, economists and experts have all come up with many different reasons and explanations for what triggered the meltdown. To some extent many of these are intertwined and connected to another. Organizations such as Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were flawed at similar regions. In other words, there was a common denominator that ultimately led to the crisis for all these corporations. A fundamental error which is present in nearly all of the organizations which were directly to blame for and were directly affected is the problem of governance and management within organizations. As the companies and firms were not managed in a sustainable and healthy manner, their minor everyday errors built up and lead to…

References

Berrone, P. (2008). Current Global Financial Crisis: An Incentive Problem. Occasional Paper,. [e-book] Madrid, Spain: Unversity of Navarra.  http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Markets/p109.pdf  [Accessed: 30th July, 2013].

Buiter, W. (2009). Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis For Regulators And Supervisors.. [e-book] Available through: London School of Economics and Political Science  http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29048/1/Lessons_from_the_global_financial_crisis.pdf  [Accessed: 30th July, 2013].

Clarke, T. (2010). Recurring Crises In Anglo-American Corporate Governance. Contributions to Political Economy, 29 pp. 9-32.

Kirkpatrick, G. (2009). The Corporate Governance Lessons from the Financial Crisis. Financial Market Trends, 1.

The article that was written by Conley (2011) discusses the impact that collateralized debt obligations (CDO's) would have upon the subprime loans. These were created in 1987, by the Wall Street firm Drexel urnham. In this product, the investment bankers would take a number of different articles and combine them together as one investment. The various assets that were used included: junk bonds, mortgages and other high yielding investments from the debt. The idea with these different products is that the investment bank could offer customers a stated return on their investment. The way it worked is the brokerage firm would distribute each investor, the stated amount of returns that they would make off of the tranche (the CDO investment). This was derived using a complex mathematical formula that would divide the total amount of interest that was received, from the various high yielding products that were inside the CDO.…

Bibliography

Case Study, 2011, Investopedia. Available from: [14 February 2011]

Citi Merger a Mistake, 2008, Huffington Post. Available from: [14 February 2011].

Deregulation Redux, 2011, FCIC. Available from: {14 February 2011].

Derivatives, 2011, Financial Dictionary. Available from: [12 February 2011].

(Der Hovanesian, 2010)

Increased Promotion of Discounted mortgages.

The way that subprime lending practices, and some call predatory lending practices affect the housing market has yet to be realized on such a large scale, as these tactics have always been carefully controlled by lending institutions, due in large part to their historical long-range view. Subprime lending on the other hand is fundamentally not a long-term view practice; it is a short-term tactic that is now being dealt with on a massive scale as foreclosures mount and more and more families see foreclosure looming in their future and more and more banks take on this debt, with the added burden of holding on to mortgages that far exceed the new depleted value of homes as the market corrects naturally from the housing bubble. The marketing for such subprime lending was absolutely saturated as nearly every individual was admonished to buy a…

Resources

"Construction. Country Profile. United States," the Economist Intelligence Unit Limited (2007), p42-43, Retrieved from Database Business Search Premier December 4, 2010:  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&an=25830278&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live 

Der Hovanesian, M. (2006). Nightmare Mortgages. BusinessWeek, (4002), 79-80. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database December 10, 2010  http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.pcc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&an=22374294&site=ehost-live 

Gopal, Prashant (November 29, 2007) Northeast Home Prices Remain Strong. Business Week Online, 11/29/2007, p1, Retrieved from Database Business Search Premier December 4, 2010:  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&an=27673398&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live 

Killelea, P. (Dec, 1, 2010) Housing crash continues -- it's a terrible time to buy an expensive house: Why? Retrieved December 10, 2010 from  http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html

While it was generally agreed that the increase in prices was due mainly to an insufficient offer as the stock house was limited, opinions have also been forwarded according to which the buy-to-let purchases have contributed to the inflation of the house prices (Property Mark).

The debate concerning the reasons for the massive price increases for residential properties (materialized mostly between 1996 and 2005) is however still ongoing. On the one hand, there are the property bulls, who argue that the increase in the prices of residential builds is the result of natural processes of economic growth and development. In other words, they state that the increase in prices was the natural reaction to higher levels of employment, economic stability and lower interest rates. On the other hand however, sit the property bears, who claim that the increase in property prices is not linked to any economic processes, but is…

References:

Billington, I., 2010, 2011 set to be slow year for U.K. market, the Source,  http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2010/12/23/2011-set-to-be-slow-year-for-uk-housing-market  / last accessed on January 14, 2011

Blackson, S., 2005, the practical guide to total financial freedom, Volume 3, Lulu Press Incorporates, ISBN 1411620569

Blackson, S., 2005, the guide to real estate investing, Lulu Press Incorporated, ISBN 1411623835

Booth, T., 2003, the buy to let guide: how to invest for profit in residential property and manage the letting yourself, 2nd Edition, How't Books, ISBN 1857038649

The National Housing Act indirectly promoted the idea of lenders offering much longer-term mortgages with the currently accepted concept of monthly payments with the dual interest and principal payment scale. Amortized real estate mortgages opened the door for an average person to purchase and own a single family home.

As a result of the National Housing Act, the United States government inadvertently committed itself along with private lenders to insure long-term mortgages that could be held for as long as twenty or more years at an interest rate that was affordable. Although the process at first was bogged down by paperwork and bureaucracy it eventually caught on.

Part of the reason the process took hold was because in addition to guaranteeing the loans, the National Housing Act through the formation of the Federal Housing Administration also investigated properties and neighborhoods which added an extra measure of security and guaranteed real-estate…

Works Cited continued

Housing: The Key to Economic Recovery. Ed. NAHB. Natioanal Association of Home Builders. 5 Nov. 2004  http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentTypeID=7&contentID=46 .

Longman, Phillip. "The Mortgaged Generation: Why the Young Can't Afford a House." Washington Monthly, Vol. 18 April 1986.

Meyerson, Martin, Barbara Terrett, and William L.C. Wheaton. Housing, People and Cities. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962.

Peterson, James R. "Housing Plays Politics to Keep Growth Strong." ABA Banking Journal Vol. 92 (2000).

It is, in this sense, a question of security and risk avoidance. In a financially insecure environment, an environment where state budgeting and financing for hospitals may be influenced by issues such as a change in the governing party, a change in the state priorities or anything like this, it is important to know that, while on one hand your sources of financing are variable, including here the possibility that sponsorship contacts may be less important in some years, your financial obligations remain stable and are not subject to modifications.

A second important advantage for the two types of conventional mortgage schemes I have mentioned is the fact that they seem to be more addressed to long-term activities than the adjustable rate conventional mortgage. Indeed, the adjustable rate advantages people who will prefer to change their asset after the first years and will benefit form the lower interest rate and…

Bibliography

1. Understanding Mortgage Options. Alpha Mortgage Services Inc. On the Internet at  http://www.loanbright.com/alphatoledo/options.htm 

2. Conventional Mortgage Program Overview. 2005. FreddieMac. On the Internet at  http://www.freddiemac.com/multifamily/conventional.htm 

Understanding Mortgage Options. Alpha Mortgage Services Inc. On the Internet at

Predatory lenders look to stretch the debt-to-income ratio to a point where, it is not considered responsible lending (Smith 3). Another example of predatory practice is attaching a balloon payment to the loan. Balloon payments are typically seen in prime paperwork used when the borrower is upwardly mobile in their profession. Meaning simply, they will be making more money in the future and able to pay a large compounded payment years from origination. A balloon payment helps maximize the amount borrowed for a higher end property.

Another practice made by these lenders is to put the borrower under distress or fear of non-approval if they sop around but also to present different facts during the home-buying process and then show up at the Closing with different paperwork than discussed prior. Smith argues, "in a study of 255 very high-cost loans in Dayton, Ohio, 75% were found to have prepayment penalties…

Works Cited

Aaron, Ailis. "Study: Predatory Loan Terms Increase Risk of Subprime Mortgage Foreclosure by Up to Half." PR Newswire (Jan. 25, 2005).

ACORN Study Documents Problem of Predatory Lending and Financial Apartheid." U.S. Newswire (Nov. 2, 2000).

America's Homeownership Challenge. 23 Feb. 2005  http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/homeownership/homeownership-policy-book-ch2.html#challenge 

Background on U.S. Homeownership. 23 Feb. 2005  http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/homeownership/homeownership-policy-book-background.html#goodfor

.." The Federal Reserve continues to keep a watch on both "current and potential exposures..." And are in the process of a review of the collateral valuation methods of the banking industry." (Kohn, 2008)

Kohn states that disruptions in liquidity in some financial markets have resulted in banking organizations facing challenges and specifically at present "significant liquidity demands can emanate from both the asset and liability of the bank's balance sheet." (Kohn, 2008) Kohn relates that when liquidity is reduced in the markets specifically for "certain structured credit products the creation of challenges and concerns relating to valuating spreads into other sectors and "illiquidity in some credit markets may make it difficult for some market participants, including banking organizations, to hedge positions effectively." (Kohn, 2008) Kohn states that the banking industry in the U.S. is up against some very serious challenges however, the Federal Reserve in cooperation with banking agencies…

Bibliography

Berger, Allen N.; and Bouwman, Christa H.S. (2007) Bank Liquidity Creation. 15 Jan 2007

Brown, Ellen (2008) April Fools: The Fox to Guard the Banking Henhouse 30 Mar 2008. Online 'The Web of Debt' available online at  http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/banking-henhouse.php 

Buiter, Willem (2008) Lessons from Northern Rock: Banking and Shadow Banking. VOX. 4 March 2008. Online available at  http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/960 

Estrella, Arturo (2002) Securitization and the Efficacy of Monetary Policy. Economic Policy Review. Vol. 8 No.1 Federal Reserve Board Bank of New York. Online available at  http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/epr/02v08n1/0205estr/0205estr.html#chart1

This program only covers a restricted amount of assistance at home for certain homebound seniors. Most state Medicaid programs target poor or low-income elders who need nursing home care, with little coverage for services in the home and community. Seniors who do not meet the requirements for long-term care under these programs must use a considerable portion of their resources to pay for long-term care, either out-of-pocket or through a private long-term-care-insurance policy (Stucki, 2004).

In addition to inadequate financing options, impaired seniors who want to live at home face stringent eligibility requirements when using government or insurance benefits for long-term care. This makes it hard for seniors to get help before they face an incapacitating and expensive disaster. "To receive services under the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (1915c) waiver program, impoverished elders must be so severely impaired that they would otherwise require nursing home care. Long-term-care-insurance policyholders typically…

References

Bowen Bishop, T. & Shan, H. (2008). Reverse Mortgages: A Closer Look at HECM Loans.

Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/programs/ag/rrc/08-

Q2%20Bishop,%20Shan%20FINAL.pdf

Reverse Mortgages Can Help with Long-Term Care Expenses, Study Says. (2004). Retrieved

4. I did not obtain my current mortgage under any materially false pretenses.

As part of the Hope for Homeowners program, I would be able to attain a new affordable mortgage based on a current appraisal value. I would retain 10% equity in the property, and would be sharing the equity and future appreciation with the Federal government, which would prohibit me from taking out any additional loans against the property except for direct repairs and/or maintenance. There are also up front insurance premiums for this type of loan, which I am aware of.

If you would please consider one of these two options, I believe we can come up with a mutually satisfying solution to help avoid foreclosure on my home. I am writing this hardship letter to plead with your company to review my loan information, take into account my current financial situation, my excellent payment history prior…

REFERENCES

Mortgage Bankers Association. Fannie Mae Posts Conventional Mortgage Servicing Modifications (06-18). Related Documents, 2008 Mortgage Bankers Association. Website with .pdf file:

 http://fha-refinance-program.com/hope-for-homeowners.html 

 http://www.hud.gov/fha/home080730.cfm   http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page?_pageid=73,7601299&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

The Bank CEO's ole in Defining Ethical Integrity

Based on a thorough review of existing literature of the role of ethics in the banking industry, the role of the CEO as the ethical leader of their organization is next discussion. Based on the concepts presented in the paper to this point as the foundation, these key points provide insights into how CEOs and senior management actively shape the ethical standards of the organizations they manage on behalf of shareholders.

isk Management Is a CEOs' Ethical esponsibility combination of forces -- changing regulatory expectations that open companies up to intense levels of examination, heightened stakeholder sensitivity to and scrutiny of corporate behavior, and the severity of punishment by financial markets for corporate missteps -- push reputation and ethics management onto the CEOs' and senior managements' agenda. The paradox CEOs face is when to risk the reputation and brand of the company…

References

John Bond (2007). A safety culture with justice: A way to improve financial performance. Loss Prevention Bulletin,(196), 31-39. Retrieved October 20, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1333256011).

Donald R. Cassling (2008). Poehl v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. The Banking Law Journal, 125(9), 865. Retrieved October 21, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1571291211).

Chris Churchill (2007). State targets lender ethics: Mortgage brokers must get training, undergo criminal checks starting next year. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Retrieved October 21, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Dateline database. (Document ID: 1335614991).

Greenberg, J. (1990). Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment inequity: The hidden cost of pay cuts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 561-569.

Predictably, adjustable rate mortgages had a higher rate of default than non-adjustable rate mortgages, given the increase in interest rates in the years before the crisis, after many borrowers took out loans during an era of unusually low, near-zero rates. But another puzzling finding was that loans below $100, 000 and loan amounts in the $250,000 to half-million range had higher interest rates than loans of a half-million and above, once again suggesting that while middle-income individuals who might otherwise appear to be 'good' risks had been targeted for loans that were not advantageous to them.

"The finding that blacks and Latinos tended to borrow more helps explain why they received a disproportionately high share of high-cost loans, but the larger amounts borrowed by Asians contradicts the hypothesis that loan amount explains the rate spread differentials the best predictor that a borrower would default is the amount borrowed" as Asians…

Reference

Doviak, Eric & Kevin MacDonald. (2011). "Who defaults? Who goes into foreclosure?" 1-34.

They could not foresee the housing market falling as it did, and the number of foreclosures it would create, and so, they aggressively continued to pursue the market when they should have been cutting back. The top executives left the company, but they were not fired, in fact, Killinger retired, comfortably it would seem. The customers of the bank, especially those with mortgages, are the ones who really will suffer in the long-term. The bank will rebound, but those with foreclosed homes never got the chance for a bailout, and so, they lost everything, while the executives and leaders of the bank are not charged with any wrongdoing. Luckily, the American taxpayers did not suffer, either, because JP Morgan Chase financed the takeover and the continuing operations of the bank.

In conclusion, WaMu's failure came about due to a number of reasons. They invested far too heavily in the sub-prime…

References

Adler, Joe, and Hopkins, Cheyenne. "FDIC's 'Big One': Long Prelude Gave Way to a Sudden End." American Banker, 29 Sept. 2008, Vol. 173, Issue 188.

Cocheo, Steve. "Kerry Killinger Builds His Dream Bank." ABA Banking Journal 93.8 (2001): 22.

Editors. "Washington Mutual, Inc." New York Times. 27 Sept. 2008. Business, 1.

Ivy, Bob and Shen, Linda. "Washington Mutual Hobbled by Increasing Defaults on Option ARMs." Bloomberg.com. 15 Sept. 2008. 11 Dec. 2008.  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNSwdt57nTBI&refer=home

Conclusion
If AIG would not have been helped by the Federal eserve, it is more
than obvious that the financial group would have declared bankruptcy.
Although the bailout reached an enormous sum, the action was justified.
Given the current market conditions, an eventual collapse of AIG would
contribute even more to the fragility of the financial market. Also, it
would have led to a reduction of public wealth, and it would have reduced
economic performance.
The opinion of U.S. taxpayers is that the AIG bailout was not
justified. For them, it did not seem fair that they should pay for the
mistakes made by financial corporations' CEOs and by the defective policies
and strategies practiced by financial groups.
There are two sides to this issue, one opposing the other. U.S.
citizens have strongly declared themselves against the bailout. Their
pressure determined the country's officials to reject financial saving
plans initially.…

Reference list:
1. Chronology: Financial Crisis Spreads from U.S. to World
Markets (2008). Deutsche Welle. Retrieved November 7, 2008
from http:www.dw-world.dedwarticle0,2144,3689713,00.html.

2. Subprime mortgage crisis (2008). Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia. Retrieved November 7, 2008 from
http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiSubprimemortgagecrisis.
3. DiMartino, D. & Duca, J. V. (2007). The Rise and Fall of

institutional economics. When attachment proposal guidelines; I a 1,5-2-page proposal 3-page essay. I minimum 4 book resources. Maybe subject "effects oil cryisis 1973 institutions" "effects subprime mortgage crisis istitutions."

Institutional economics -- Essay proposal

The internationalized economic crisis is now the buzzword across the globe. The impacts it has generated are complex and dramatic, to include corporate bankruptcies or the loss of the population's savings. But aside from these generally accepted dimensions of the crisis, fact remains that the topics pegged to the crisis are more multifaceted and go beyond the impacts on the population and the economic agents. The impacts are as such also felt at the level of the institutions.

The proposal is then that of assessing the subprime mortgage crisis through different lenses -- those of the effects generated upon the institutions. Most of the effects are expected to be felt by the lending institutions -- both…

References:

Ashcraft, A.B., 2010, Understanding the securitization of subprime mortgage credit, DIANE Publishing

Kiff, J., Mills, P., 2007, Money for nothing and checks for free: recent developments in U.S. subprime mortgage markets, Issues 2007-2188, International Monetary Fund

Madura, J., 2008, Financial institutions and markets, 8th edition, Cengage Learning EMEA

Mimoun, K., 2010, Impact of financial innovations on the subprime mortgage crisis: causalities of the financial crisis, GRIN Verlag

Bailing out the American economy: Banks vs. mortgage-Holders

In 2008, the United States teetered on the brink of an economic crisis. If the United States were to suffer a financial meltdown, the global economy could spiral downward in a manner unprecedented since the Great Depression. The crisis had begun in the U.S. subprime mortgage market but had rapidly spread to other sectors of the economy. The remedy of the U.S. government was the creation of the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Fund) ("Troubled Asset Relief," Investopedia, 2012). Almost every major banking institution, deemed in the infamous phrase 'too big to fail' was given some form of relief. However, homeowners who were behind on their mortgages were angry that they received relatively little support from the government even though they perceived themselves as far less culpable than the banks. Even the plan proposed by Jeffrey Fuhrer (Foote et al. 2009) on the…

Works Cited

Calmes, Jackie. "Audit finds TARP program effective." New York Times. 20 Dec 2009.

[17 Oct 2012].

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/business/economy/10audit.html?dbk&_r=0 

Carter, Adrienne. "Big Banks Pay Back TARP Funds -- But Still Get Government Aid."

Financial Fraud Fannie Mae

eview of Fraud Schemes within Fannie Mae 1998-2004

Scope

The agency found the fraud understatements of earnings and illegal gratuities that led to accounting violations and inability to meet Wall Street goals.

The investigation of Lee Frakas, executive of a major mortgage company which had dealings with Fannie Mae with hundreds of fake mortgages. The Securities Exchange Commission cited that Fannie Mae had to repay earnings and correct their books for the period 2001 through 2004. This major undertaking will cost the company over $11 billion by SEC estimates. In addition the Department of Justice has conducted a criminal investigation on the board members.

Summary

The top executive managing Fannie Mae were found guilty of illegally reporting accounting information that led to their receiving million dollar payments. Under Fraudulent Financial Statement Schemes this case is one of corruption and financial fraud. The specific areas include Illegal…

References

Associated Press. (2006). Fannie Mae manipulated accounting. Retrieved January 19, 2012 from  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12923225/ns/business-corporate_scandals/t/report-fannie-mae-manipulated-accounting/# 

Schoenberg, T. (2011). Silence on taylor bean opened the way to $3 billion fraud. Retrieved January 19, 2012 from  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/926704/posts

Interest rates are set at the national level, and the state of the economy is also national. Additionally, trends in investment flows (particularly into real estate) also proved to be national. As a result, the level of market risk remained high even when the level of asset-specific risk was reduced through the securitization process.

It is not inevitable that this had to happen this way. Banks, however, overinvested in the mortgage-backed securities, believing them to be safe. This reflected a lack of understanding of the true risks associated with mortgage markets, and in general the risks associated with the underlying assets of many MBSs. There are two reasons for this. Securitization created a false sense of security, that diversification would lead to these products having low risk levels. AAA ratings from ratings agencies confirmed this view, despite it being false.

The second reason is that the securitization process was complex.…

Works Cited:

Fender, I. (2000). Corporate hedging: The impact of financial derivatives on the broad credit channel of monetary policy. BIS Working Papers No. 94. In possession of the author.

Gomez, E.; Vasquez, D. & Zea, C. (2005). Derivative markets' impact on Colombian monetary policy. Banco de la Republica. In possession of the author.

But Morgenson suggests even more troublingly, that the fundamental assumption of affordability behind the new program is flawed: "in devising what it considers an affordable mortgage payment, the program doesn't account for all of a borrower's debts -- the first mortgage, second lien, credit card debt and automobile payments. Instead, it calculates affordability using only the borrower's first mortgage payment, insurance and property taxes" (Morgenson 2009).

The program may even hurt those borrowers with second liens: "These banks -- the very same companies the Treasury is urging to modify loans that they service -- have zero interest in writing down second liens they hold because it would mean further damage to their balance sheets. Say a troubled borrower has a first mortgage owned by a pension fund in a securitization trust and a second lien held by the bank that services the loans. The servicer is happy to modify the…

Works Cited

Morgenson, Gretchen. "Why Treasury needs a Plan B. For mortgages"

The New York Times. December 5, 2009. December 6, 2009.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/business/economy/06gret.html?_r=1&ref=business

Home Building Industry: An Economic Strategy

This paper will briefly explore how recent economic indicators such as record low interest rates for mortgages and housing starts should motivate house builders to strategize for continued economic growth. At this time while the housing bubble has not burst, it is important for such companies to focus on strategy in order to remain competitive when the bubble does burst.

This type of boom in originations has spawned tremendous economic growth with regards to employment rates, reurbanization, new home building, consumer spending and confidence and made hundreds of billions of dollars for the players involved. The housing boom kept this country afloat during the darkest moments after September 11, 2001 when other industries like travel, hospitality, entertainment, energy and telecommunications seemed uncertain. One can argue that such a relationship is cyclical; what comes around goes around in the manner of economic trends such as…

References

America's Homeownership Challenge. Retrieved June 30, 2005 from the World Wide Web: .

Hecht, B. Housing-Led Economic Development. Retrieved June 30, 2005 from the World Wide Web:

Unfairness

This is a short review of literature that discusses the subprime mortgage crisis which many believe had a significant impact on the financial crisis that began in 2008. The discussion will range from how the crisis started and what the banks knew might happen because of faulty legislation and greedy lenders prior to the crash, to how the crash has impacted families and how some entities have tried to mitigate it with little success.

The financial crisis that began in earnest in 2008 followed many decisions which, in retrospect, were not wise. Legislation can be traced back to the 1960s that began allowing lending companies (banks) and hedge funds to buy large numbers of mortgages and leverage them as if they were real assets (Block-Lieb & Janger, 2011). Other laws followed such as the Community einvestment Act first passed in 1977 and amended with much stronger language in 1995…

References

Block-Lieb, S., & Janger, E.J. (2011). Reforming regulation in the markets for home loans. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 38(3), 681-699.

Canner, G.B., & Passmore, W. (1995). Home purchase lending in low-income neighborhoods and to low-income borrowers. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 81(2), 71-78.

Miller, M. (2009). Stemming the subprime crisis: The North Carolina foreclosure prevention project. Stanford Law & Policy Review, 20(1), 213-231.

Peterson, J.R. (2005). Fannie fallout: The ongoing scrutiny of Fannie Mae will affect you. The effects could be a plus for some mortgage lenders, but hedging will require more careful attention. ABA Banking Journal, 97(4), 34-53.

shadow banking system, its role in the subprime mortgage crisis, and failures of regulation within the shadow banking system. The term "shadow banking system" was coined by PIMCO's Paul McCulley in 2007 (Spanos, 2012) and refers to a banking system that includes financial intermediaries that are involved in creating credit across the global financial system, whose functions are not subject to regulatory oversight (Investopedia, 2012). The question has been debated as to whether shadow banking meets the definition of true banking. Given that the two systems perform similar functions, including credit intermediation and maturity transformation, the two should be considered parallel systems (Noeth and Sengupta, 2011).

The term shadow banking is used to describe any provision of credit taking place outside of the traditional deposit-funded lending system. This definition includes institutions that range from pawnbrokers and consumer finance companies to securities dealers as well as firms that issue corporate bonds.…

Reference List

Armstrong, R., 2010. Q+A -- Regulating the shadow banking system. Fox Business. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2012].

Beckworth, D., 2010. "Deposit insurance" for the shadow banking system. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2012].

Drum, K., 2012. The shadow banking system speaks: It's not time for austerity yet. MotherJones. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2012].

Hsu, J. And Moroz, M., 2009. Shadow banks and the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Research Affiliates LLC. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2012].

Many subprime mortgages were made with little documentation of income or ability to repay, or other elements that typically safeguard loans of all types and mortgages especially. There have even been cases of widespread fraud, where documents were falsified in order to approve loans. The reason many lenders were so eager to make these bad loans is that they weren't ultimately going to be responsible for them -- the loans were bundled into groups and sold as "mortgage backed securities," so instead of dealing with many individual loans worth an average of a few hundred thousand dollars, banks and other institutions were dealing with bundled groups of these bad loans worth millions of dollars apiece. Companies like AIG made money in the short-term by providing insurance policies for these mortgage backed securities, as well. Eventually, however, people with loans they couldn't really afford began to default, either because they simply…

A key element to Maslow's hierarchy of needs is that it is a hierarchy, namely that the baser needs must be satisfied before the higher needs can be met. A salesperson scrabbling to make a living might be willing, to satisfy his or her physiological needs, to sell anything to anyone, even encourage someone to go into dangerous debt with a mortgage he or she can ill-afford to buy an overpriced or unsuitable house. A person who lives in an unsafe community might enter into such an agreement, to earn enough money for his or her own immediate self-interest to move out of that community. The foolishness of buying a home on such a basis in the long-term is difficult to appreciate when short-term needs are not met on a physical level. Only when the salesperson's bestial instincts of food and shelter and safety are satisfied can he or she…

Works Cited

Gwynne, Robert. (1997) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. http://web.utk.edu/~gwynne/maslow.HTM

There is no acknowledgement that leaders may indeed be flexible according to the situation and followers that they are dealing with. Even though women, for example, may favor a more laissez-faire type of leadership style than men (Eagly, Johannesen-chmidt & Van Engen), this does not mean that they will do so in all circumstances, or indeed that all female leaders will have this tendency.

The Path-Goal Theory

The path-goal theory is one of the most flexible and popular models used in the changing business world today. It allows for an integration of various styles, personalities and situations. The components inherent in this theory is the particular path that employees are expected to follow in order to reach a certain desired goal. The position of the leader in this model is to provide followers with desirability in terms of goals and the removal of obstacles along the way towards obtaining the…

Sources

Eagly, A.H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M.C., & van Engen, M.L. (2003, July). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 569-591.

Hughes, Richard L., Ginnett, Robert C. & Curphy, Gordon J. (2002). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (4th ed). New York: McGraw Hill.

Kuriger, Craig C. (2006, July/August) Workplace change and worker fears: when new technology enters the workplace. Army Logistician

Parker, Dennis R. (2002, January/February). Create opportunities, not fear, through change. Leadership.

Even if no actual money changed hands, anything inherited and then sold may have taxable value (Prendergast, 1982; Yin, 2002).

Cases such as Crane v. Commissioner (1947) and Commissioner v. Tufts (1983) reaffirm the concept that there are many different kinds of taxable gains and a large number of individuals fail to realize that anything they acquire must be accounted for (Bittker, 1978; Pino-Anderson, 1982). By addressing the different between recourse and nonrecourse debt, those who find themselves in inheritance situations attempt to avoid taxation on the property they acquire because there was debt owed on that property at the time it was bequeathed to them (Cunningham, 1984; Isaac & O'Leary, 2012). The belief is that the object that was inherited is worth only as much as (or appreciably less) than the debt that was owed on it, so there should not be any taxation of that object (Isaac &…

References

Barris, J. (2008) an expert system for appraisal by the method of comparison. PhD Thesis, UPC, Barcelona

Baum, a., Nunnigton, N., & Mackmin, D. (2011) the Income Approach to Property Valuation (6th Edition). Estates Gazette, London

Bittker, Boris I. (1978). "Tax Shelters, Nonrecourse Debt, and the Crane Case." Tax Law Review 33: 277.

Commissioner v. Tufts, 461 U.S. 300 (1983)

ole of Law in Society

The law places a critical role in society, often serving to informally support the same rules and norms that it can formally enforce if someone violates them. The four primary functions of the law are: to ensure that the government, its officials, and private individuals are all accountable for their actions; to protect fundamental rights; to provide fairness; and to ensure justice (The World Justice Project, 2012). The rule of law provides the framework for society, so that all people come to the table with the same understanding of how transactions should work some knowledge of the remedies for wrongdoing, and knowledge of the consequences of inappropriate behavior. In fact, in many ways the presence of the law is prophylactic, preventing wrong behavior simply because that behavior has been made illegal.

One of the most critical uses of the law is to ensure basic human…

References

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010).

The World Justice Project. (2012). The Rule of Law. Retrieved May 9, 2013 from  http://worldjusticeproject.org/what-rule-law

Agility, responsiveness, and staying customer-centric while relying on the processes necessary for Long Beach Mortgage to grow profitability is the balance that needs to be maintained within this implementation. The BFOT suite of applications need to be positioned and launched to the employees, suppliers, and third party resellers of Long Beach Mortgage services as a series of tools to make them more agile, responsive, and effective in serving clients.

Conclusions

For Long Beach Mortgage, the future is now. The revolution that is sweeping the financial services industry to higher levels of customer responsiveness and involvement while dropping the costs per transaction needs to be capitalized on by the company by taking the following steps. First, the existing prospect- and customer-facing processes must be redesigned to get inefficiencies and costly time wasting steps out of the way. Second, the integration needs of these processes must next be considered and planned for,…

Economic Crisis Policies

US current economic crisis is considered to be started from real estate sector. The real sector started to decline in 2006 and it accelerated in 2007 and 2008. Housing prices have fallen from the peak from about 25% so far. The decline in prices left homeowners with no option and they were unable to refinance their mortgages and causes default of mortgages. This default of mortgages and loans swallowed the banks and financial markets such as falling of Lehman's brothers and other anks and blow to rest of economy happened as the whole economy was relying on banks and ultimately it slows down investment in the country and capital flows to other parts of the world like China and India. ank losses cause reduction of bank capital which in turn requires capital reduction thus saving bank from lending. It is estimated that every $100 loss and reduction…

Bibliography

ISR international socialist review. (2009, april). Retrieved from The U.S. economic crisis:causes and solutions:  http://www.isreview.org/issues/64/feat-moseley.shtml 

Journal of accountancy. (2009, october). Retrieved from The U.S. economic crisis: root causes and road to recovery: www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2009/Oct/20091781

Eyes on wall street. (2011, april). Retrieved from Levin coburn investigates casues of financial crisis:  http://www.eyesonwallstreet.com/2011/04/articles/financial-crisis/levincoburn-report-investigates-causes-of-the-financial-crisis/ 

Rude, C. (2009). World Economic Crisis and Fed Reserve Response to it. Studies in Political Economy.

The market size for AAA Software based on PC usage can be estimated by the total number of new PC sales and the level of antivirus usage on them. The total PC usage during the corresponding year is shown in the figure.

Source: http://www.etforecasts.com/products/ES_pcww1203.htm

C3: Competitive Analysis- Describe your company's current competition.

KEY DIFFEENTIATOS

egistered/Head Office

Czech epublic

United States

United States

Slovak epublic

United States

Number of Users

More than 150mn users

NA

NA

NA

NA

Product Variants

Home Users - Antivirus (Free, Pro and Internet Security), Products available for Mobile and Mac, Business Users -- Small or Home Office, Enterprise and Server needs

Home Users - AVG Antivirus Free, Antivirus, Internet Security, PC Tuneup, Secure Search, Business Users -- Antivirus, Internet Security, Email Server, File Server, Linux Server, escue CD, emote Administration, Mobile Users -- Antivirus Free/Pro

Home Users, Business Users -- Microsoft System Center Endpoint Protection (only…

References

Blokdijk, G. (2008). Change Management 100 Success Secrets: The Complete Guide to Process, Tools, Software and Training in Organizational Change Management. Lulu.com.

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2012). Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change (3 ed.). Kogan Page Publishers.

Chambers, R. (Ed.). (2007). How to Succeed as a Leader (Illustrated ed.). Radcliffe Publishing.

Doe, J.P. (2011, 10-10). www.wgu.edu. Retrieved from Student Template in APA for Business Plan:  http://www.wgu.edu .

But amid the celebration, crucial opportunities have been lost: In September 2009, the "inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a k a, the bank bailout fund, released his report on the 2008 rescue of the American International Group, the insurer. The gist of the report is that government officials made no serious attempt to extract concessions from bankers, even though these bankers received huge benefits from the rescue. And more than money was lost. By making what was in effect a multibillion-dollar gift to all Street, policy makers undermined their own credibility -- and put the broader economy at risk" (Krugman 2009). Many banks have given back their TARP funds, in exchange for the ability to once again engage in risky activities, to pay traders the bonuses they desire, and to pay executives what seems to be overinflated compensation. In June ten of the largest recipients of aid,…

Works Cited

Cohan, William. "A tsunami of greed." The New York Times. March 11, 2009.

December 8, 2009.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/opinion/12cohan.html 

"Credit Crisis." Special feature. The New York Times. Last September 22, 2009.