by Brian Mahany
Bank of America chief executive officer Brian Moynihan’s deposition was just filed with the court after Thanksgiving. It reminds of some of the transcripts I have read dealing with mobsters. If there was an Academy Award or Oscar for the most stonewalling, Moynihan would be a shoe-in.
Insurance giant MBIA sued Countrywide Home Loans after suffering staggering losses on toxic mortgages issued by Countrywide. Bank of America subsequently acquired Countrywide.
MBIA says that Countrywide lied about the quality of the loans they were writing. They claim they would not have insured these loans if they knew that many were junk. Going into the mortgage crisis, MBIA enjoyed a AAA rating. After paying out billions in claims, they are barely solvent.
As part of its case, MBIA wanted to put BOA’s CEO, Brian Moynihan, under oath and take his deposition. The banks lawyers tried to hard to block the deposition but ultimately in May of this year, raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth.
Unfortunately, Moynihan can’t seem to recall the truth. Looking at his deposition, which became public record on November 25th, he can’t remember anything.
Time after time, Moynihan was asked questions about the acquisition of Countrywide. His response? “I don’t recall.” At one point, one of the lawyers asked Moynihan if he recalled anything about the acquisition of Countrywide even in the broadest sense. His response? “I don’t recall specific instances of that discussion.” Remember, Countrywide was a multi-billion dollar acquisition; one of the bank’s largest.
When bank CEO’s are backed into a corner and answer like this, they look like buffoons. Or worse, they come across as Richard Nixon, in other words, disingenuous and crooked.
Perhaps Moynihan really doesn’t remember. If his memory is that bad, he doesn’t belong as the CEO of a bail deemed by the Treasury Department as “too big to fail.” We have long said BOA is “too big to care.” A Rolling Stone column calls the bank, “too crooked to fail.”
There are probably several bank employees who have enough inside information to put Moynihan behind bars. Unfortunately, we know many, many victims who have lost their homes because of Bank of America’s antics and fraud. How high up the ladder the corruption goes remains to be seen. in the meantime, Bank of America continues to write checks to settle claims and lawsuits brought by the government and aggrieved homeowners.
Why do we tell this story? Because our law firm represents victims of lending and banking fraud and also financial sector whistleblowers with information about corruption and false practices. (Whistleblowers can receive up to 30% of what the government recovers from a defendant in a false claims suit. Similar whistleblower award programs are also available from the SEC and IRS.)
Think you have a claim? Give us a call. All inquiries are kept in strict confidence. For more information about foreclosure fraud and lender liability issues, contact attorney Anthony Dietz at or by telephone at (248) 789-5551. Potential whistleblower? Contact the author, attorney Brian Mahany at or by telephone at (direct).
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