NPR radio had an interview about the high foreclosure rate on January 3. I missed the time period to comment. Here is a second comment I was going to post:
There have been a lot of comments in this discussion claiming that the banks lose money on foreclosures. So far, no one has posted a short summary of the true details. There is one observation that I made that I use as a guide. What does the press coverage say? “Rescued Banks Post Multibillion-Dollar Profits – washingtonpost.com July 18, 2009” “All of the 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks reported positive net income during the third quarter… WSJ October 30, 2010”. If the banks were losing money on this scam, I’m sure the results wouldn’t look anything like this. Instead we’d be reading things like, “banks continue record losses – no end in sight.” But we don’t.
Which brings me to the role of the press. Sure, I’m angry at them for missing the whole human tragedy I discussed in my previous blog. But I’m even more disturbed at their slant about the banks. The big news stories lately have been asking, when are the banks going to get to move on their foreclosures? What is the press telling us? “The poor banks! Sure, they are PROFITABLE again. But they are far below their astronomical pre-crisis levels!” Come on! Give us a break. Stop the smoke screen. Who are the victims here? Who is going to pay for all of this? And in who’s pocket did all the money go?
