Credit Crisis Litigation
The fallout from the ongoing credit crisis that began with the subprime mortgage market meltdown is more severe than any prior financial market crises the U.S. has faced since the Great Depression. These events have adversely affected a wide range of entities and individuals alike, including financial institutions, investors, brokers, pension plans, ratings agencies, hedge funds, and insurance companies and their directors and officers. The ramifications have been severe, resulting in mortgage asset devaluations, investigations, bankruptcies, litigation and increased government enforcement actions. Resolving these concerns requires creative and strategic solutions.
Our Services
Our professionals assist clients with all aspects of litigation and investigations related to the subprime meltdown and credit crisis. We combine accounting, investigative, financial, technology and industry resources to respond rapidly and thoroughly to credit crisis–related allegations involving:
- Auditor and accounting malpractice
- Bankruptcy claims
- Claims against corporate directors and officers
- Claims by counterparties to credit derivatives and default swaps
- Class-action lawsuits
- Improper trading practices
- Inadequate risk disclosures
- Investigations of mortgage lenders, brokers and insurers
- Lawsuits against mortgage originators and sellers
- Mortgage origination fraud
- Predatory lending practices
- Private civil litigation
- Real estate litigation
- Regulatory investigations
- Securities law violations
- Shareholder derivative actions
- Structured finance and securitization transactions
- Valuation of mortgage-related assets/valuation reserves
- Violations of generally accepted accounting principles
Our Professionals
BDO Consulting has assembled a multidisciplinary team of accomplished professionals from various practice areas to assist clients with litigation issues arising from the credit crisis. Our professionals provide counseling, transactional and litigation services to financial institutions and other market participants affected by the crisis. Our experienced practitioners represent a cross-section of BDO Consulting’s practice areas—including banking, corporate restructuring and bankruptcy, financial and fraud investigations, financial services, real estate, regulatory compliance, risk advisory, structured financing and litigation consulting—in order to help our clients address the numerous issues affecting them.
As the number of subprime mortgage-related home foreclosures and loan delinquencies has climbed, federal prosecutors and regulators have launched new investigations into subprime lender activities. Litigation has mounted in a multitude of jurisdictions over business disputes arising from subprime market dealings. Mortgage companies, brokers, banks, financial institutions, and other companies that created, sold, bought, insured and even rated mortgage-backed securities are targets of these investigations and lawsuits. BDO Consulting's seasoned professionals have the investigatory and litigation experience to assist clients in responding to these situations.
Companies across the mortgage lending landscape—from loan originators to insurers of mortgage backed securities—are becoming the focus of regulatory inquiries or civil litigation. In an effort to limit the scope of financial exposure and business risk, organizations can conduct their own internal reviews, risk assessments and due diligence to analyze the transaction process. We assist clients in conducting internal reviews to identify weaknesses or misrepresentations during the transactional process, and couple direct industry knowledge with dedicated capabilities in transaction analyses, investigative due diligence, computer forensics and monitoring. Our professionals include licensed investigators as well as former law enforcement officers, federal and local prosecutors, and bank officers who have investigated and prosecuted mortgage-related crimes.
Diverse Accounting & Investigative Talent
As a division of a national accounting firm, BDO Consulting has a wealth of accounting professionals and resources as well as investigative talent, including licensed investigators, former federal and local prosecutors, former law enforcement and regulators, former corporate internal investigators and certified fraud examiners.
International Presence & Capability
The FCPA and other anti-corruption laws and regulations require organizations to institute anti-corruption policies and procedures that cover their international operations and relationships. As a division of the U.S. member firm of BDO International, and with access to BDO member firms around the globe, BDO Consulting is able to deploy resources wherever needed. Our professionals have successfully completed engagements utilizing resources from BDO International in various locations including North America, South America, Europe, Asia and other parts of the world.
Our computer forensics, e-discovery and data analysis professionals assist in investigations and litigation based on a thorough understanding of legal proceedings and recognized best practices. We draw upon our experience with technology to help determine the locations where information is likely to be stored, identify potentially available information and advise on the process for efficient and effective collection, analysis and presentation of information.