Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis

Paul Muolo, Mathew Padilla

John Wiley & Sons, Dec 21, 2010 - Business & Economics - 400 pages

An updated and revised look at the truth behind America's housing and mortgage bubbles

In the summer of 2007, the subprime empire that Wall Street had built all came crashing down. On average, fifty lenders a month were going bust-and the people responsible for the crisis included not just unregulated loan brokers and con artists, but also investment bankers and home loan institutions traditionally perceived as completely trustworthy.

Chain of Blame chronicles this incredible disaster, with a specific focus on the players who participated in such a fundamentally flawed fiasco. In it, authors Paul Muolo and Mathew Padilla reveal the truth behind how this crisis occurred, including what individuals and institutions were doing during this critical time, and who is ultimately responsible for what happened.

• Discusses the latest revelations in the housing and mortgage crisis, including the SEC's charging of Angelo Mozilo
• Two well-regarded financial journalists familiar with the events that have taken place chronicle the crisis in detail, showing what happened as well as what lies ahead
• Discusses how the world's largest investment banks, homeowners, lenders, credit rating agencies, underwriters, and investors all became entangled in the subprime mess

Intriguing and informative, Chain of Blame is a compelling story of greed and avarice, one in which many are responsible, but few are willing to admit their mistakes.

What people are saying

Great Potential Undermined by Poor Editing

User Review  - Borders

I purchased this book in hopes of acquiring a greater understanding of how our economy and housing market reached their present precarious states. Most of the reviews that I read for the book were ...

Contents

• A Short: 23
• The Death of the Bailey Building and Loan: 47
• How Roland Arnall: 73
• The Son of a Bronx Butcher: 103
• The Holy Roller of REITs: 127
• The End of the New Century: 149
• A Conspiracy by Merrill?: 179
• CDOs SIVs: 205
• Deep in the Belly of the Bear: 227
• The Tan Man Departs: 249
• What the Hell Happened? Ten Bad Years: 277
• TARP the Great Recession and the Return: 309
• A Mortgage Cartel Rises from the Ashes: 335
• Glossary: 351

About the author

PAUL MUOLO is Executive Editor of National Mortgage News which won a Polk Award in 1990 for its reporting on the S&L crisis. His freelance work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Barron's. Muolo has been a guest on numerous media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, ABC, and Fox Business Network.

MATHEW PADILLA is a business journalist whose work on the implosion of the Southern California subprime industry was recognized by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis
• Authors: Paul Muolo, Mathew Padilla
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2010
• ISBN: 1118039580, 9781118039588
• Length: 400 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Accounting / General; Business & Economics / Finance / General; Business & Economics / General