Federal Housing Finance Agency Files Suits Against Big Banks

Well, it finally happened. A federal agency seems to have some guts. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the keeper of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has accused 17 banks of fraud and of lying to the feds and investors about the crap they were securitizing. FHFA is looking for almost $200 billion for just the crap that was sold to Fannie and Freddie.

BofA looks like it will get hit pretty hard as Merrill and Countrywide are separately named in the suit. A fourth of the mortgages in this suit originate with BofA.