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HARD TIMES PROFITEERS: Help Us Investigate 'Signs of Deception'

Drive through most any city in America and the offers will leap out at you: "Repair Your Credit!" "Sell Your House Quick!" They are signs of this recession, posted by Hard Times Profiteers seeking to capitalize on the financial misfortune of others, and we need your help documenting them.

By Ben Protess, Amanda Zamora and Lagan Sebert
18 February 2010

At Top Subprime Mortgage Lender, Policies Were Invitation to Fraud

The housing boom and bust often is blamed on an unfortunate mix of lax lending practices and a slowdown in home prices. But an inside look at Long Beach Mortgage suggests management practices may have been largely responsible because they enabled fraud to run rampant.

By David Heath21 December 2009

Florida Bank's Failure Paints Picture of Regulatory Lapses

The FDIC spent $100 million to shutter Ocala National Bank last year--a tiny fraction of the billions spent on big bailouts. But the Ocala story carries lessons far beyond its size, showing how regulators condoned speculative lending by hundreds of smaller banks.

By Keith Epstein14 December 2009

VIDEO: Are 'Zombie Buildings' the Next Economic Calamity?

While the overall U.S. financial system is showing signs of stability, a rapidly rising tide of troubled loans for commercial real estate threatens the survival of hundreds of the nation’s small and medium-sized banks.

By Lagan Sebert and Christine Spolar
20 November 2009

VIDEO: Are 'Zombie Buildings' the Next Economic Calamity?

Hundreds of small and medium-size banks are facing huge numbers of possible defaults by builders who erected thousands of office towers, condominiums and shopping centers with the easy credit available five years ago.

By Christine Spolar and Lagan Sebert
20 November 2009

Home Loans Brokered by Nonprofits Helped Fuel the Housing Crisis

An investigation finds that two nonprofit groups worked closely with some of the nation’s biggest home builders to arrange risky mortgages that could cost the FHA billions of dollars.

By Jeff Horwitz and Dave Jamieson
1 October 2009