Bank of America to sell $1B in toxic paper
Bank of America, the country’s No. 1 mortgage lender, battling to fix or get out of more than 1 million past due home loans, has put at least $1 billion of the toxic paper on the block, The Post has learned.
Buyers for the loans, which BofA has already written off, are circling. Bids are due by the end of December, sources said.
The sale of the block of mortgage assets, which includes loans and mortage-servicing rights, seems to signal that Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, who has said he will battle to clean up the mess, thinks the best way out is through a sale.
“This is a big sale,” one person familiar with the situation said yesterday.
The asset sale is part of a larger effort by the bank to unwind a trove of assets in the wake of the blockbuster purchases of Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch.
BofA, of Charlotte, NC, declined to comment.
The troubled loans have already been written off, so the sale isn’t expected to hammer shares, which are down 15 percent year to date.
Moynihan’s move may be prompted by upcoming regulations that would force the bank to set aside more reserves for risky assets.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/bank_of_america_to_sell_in_toxic_FYFnXNncpp9NNjQSaBa9uM#ixzz180qEPJIV
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I don’t understand why hedge funds would want to buy toxic paper. Can anyone explain this?
What do individuals have to do to buy their own notes at a discount; how do they contact the “owners”?
…. And what percentage is a discount likely to be…. would it “include” fees, interest”, expenses associated with foreclosure actions, etc.?
What effect will this massive sell-off have on the “derivatives” purchased by DeutcheBank and other investors?
If it’s tightly bundled, and priced right, it might be a good alternative to winter firewood this year. I wonder if it can be bought by the cord? Maybe the alternative energy folks out there can figure out something to do with it!
I know… I know… if they’ll just put in rolls it could be used for……