Today’s assignment
Tuesday, Sep 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Our regular commenter “circularfiringsquad” is sometimes difficult to decipher. He’s not the greatest speller or grammarian in the world and his use of nicknames often makes it hard to follow what he’s trying to say.
But the commenter has been hammering away almost non-stop for weeks, perhaps months, on the “HomeBanc” story, which finally broke this week after Gov. Pat Quinn launched a new TV ad.
* The commenter has now moved on to a different page in the oppo book…
After the spectacular failure of the news organizations who knew about the Rauner HomeBanc scandal(at least3) let’s start the day with another venture Mitt has plundered as he prepared to bless us with his vision on we should be governed. How about Education Futures Group?
OK, how about it? Anybody out there wanna take a crack at looking into and then explaining Education Futures Group in comments?
* By the way, the Tribune wasn’t really impressed with the HomeBanc story…
Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday launched a new ad attacking a business deal of Republican challenger Bruce Rauner, though the dots the Democrat uses to attack the Republican don’t necessarily connect. […]
The equity firm Rauner formerly chaired, GTCR, partnered in 2000 to create HomeBanc Mortgage. While GTCR once held a majority stake in the firm, it reduced its holdings after a public stock offering, selling the last of its shares in September 2006, Security and Exchange Commission records show.
GTCR’s actions came just months before the sudden financial unraveling of the mortgage company in 2007 led first to the January firing of CEO Patrick Flood, followed by an August bankruptcy filing. But GTCR had no board members on the mortgage firm involved in its management since 2005, prior to Flood’s firing and severance, and the bankruptcy filing. Records show Rauner was not a board member of HomeBanc in the lead up to its public offering in 2004.
It could not be immediately determined how much GTCR earned from the sale of stock during the phase-out of its involvement with the firm.
* But the union-backed Illinois Freedom PAC took issue with a Rauner campaign statement from yesterday…
HomeBanc Did Very Little Subprime Lending. “HomeBanc says the concerns about borrowers’ ability to repay, particularly subprime borrowers, hurt the entire industry. And though HomeBanc did little subprime lending — less than 1 percent of the roughly $5 billion in loans it made last year were in that segment — nervous lenders that HomeBanc relied on to fund loans started retrenching. Wall Street investors who purchased pools of loans through the mortgage-backed securities also retreated.” (Peralte C. Paul, “HOMEBANC: Lender Had Little Margin For Error,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, 8/12/07)
* From the union PAC…
2000: Bruce Rauner And Ned Jannotta Joined The Board Of Directors Of Homebanc. “Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to GTCR on its purchase of HomeBanc. And Jannotta and his partner, Bruce Rauner, will join HomeBanc’s board of directors.” [Daily Deal, 5/25/00]
2004: More Than 50% Of Homebanc Loans Were Interest Only. “A newer kind of “interest-only” mortgage lets home buyers cut payments even further. Borrowers pay no principal in the early years of the loan–a period that often stretches to 10 years. That trims initial monthly payments dramatically. Consider that same $200,000 fixed-rate loan, which costs $1,230 a month over 30 years. An adjustable-rate interest-only loan at 3.38 percent cuts that payment by more than half, to just $563 a month. At HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. in Atlanta, more than 50 percent of home buyers opt for an interest-only loan.” [Newsweek, 6/14/04]
After The Interest Only Period Ends, Borrowers Face A Big Jump In Payments. “They’d better know what they’re doing. After the interest-only period ends, borrowers face a big jump in payments. With interest-only loans it also takes homeowners much longer to build up equity; if housing prices fall, they could end up owing more than they own, especially if they put down a zero down payment. That’s one reason some pros think they’re a bad idea. “They’re a way to help people buy more house than they really should be buying in the first place,” says Dallas financial planner Bryan Clintsman. Mortgage companies admit borrowers need to be aware of the risks. Says HomeBanc senior VP D. C. Aiken: “If they go out and buy a new car because they’re saving $700 a month, that’s not a good thing.” [Newsweek, 6/14/04]
* And then there was this…
Homebanc “Started To Punish Georgia Homebuyers” By Raising The Cost Of Adjustable Rate Mortgages Because Of The Tough Consumer Lending Act. “Lenders also started to punish Georgia homebuyers. HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. — one of the state’s largest mortgage originators until it failed four years later — raised the cost of adjustable-rate, interest-only loans. Household Mortgage said it would not purchase any loans that were subject to the law. Other lenders stopped making FHA or VA loans because of vagueness in the law.” [Atlanta Journal Constitution, 4/29/13]
Homebanc Advised Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue To Dismantle Georgia’s Predatory Lending Law That Would Have Outlawed Abusive Loans Saying It Increased The Cost Of Home Loans. “A hungry and growing band of mortgage brokers circled borrowers with complicated loans offering payments that started low but quickly escalated, saddling homeowners with payments they couldn’t afford. Along with subprime loans, brokers hawked interest-only and negative-amortization loans. They offered no-money-down, no-documentation, no-job loans, anything to cinch the deal and entice their prey to the closing table. But when interest rates adjusted higher and housing values plummeted, many of those borrowers lost their homes to foreclosure, lowering the value of entire neighborhoods. Georgia’s predatory lending law would have outlawed some of those abusive loans, but it never got the chance. One of Sonny Perdue’s first acts as governor was to move to dismantle the law. In doing so, he followed the advice of companies such as Atlanta-based HomeBanc Mortgage Corp., which claimed the law’s liability measures forced it to increase the cost of home loans. At the time, HomeBanc blamed the increase on the New York investment bank Bear Stearns, which demanded a half-percentage-point premium for its loans because of higher liability risks supposedly associated with buying loans governed by Georgia’s predatory lending law. With Georgia now ranking third in the nation for mortgage loan delinquencies and 10th for foreclosures, neither HomeBanc nor Bear Stearns is around to advise the governor on what to do next. Both companies became early casualties of the real estate slump and the collapse of mortgage-backed securities.” [Editorial, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 10/3/08]
· With Homebanc’s Backing, The Georgia Fair Lending Act Was Gutted In 2003. “Four years ago, the Legislature bowed to bankers who complained that the state’s 6-month-old landmark predatory lending law was too harsh and was making it too difficult for consumers with less-than-perfect credit to buy homes. One of the most vocal critics of the original law was former HomeBanc CEO Patrick Flood. [Atlanta Journal Constitution. 08/10/07]
The Georgia Fair Lending Act Which Homebanc Successfully Gutted Could Have Protected Homebuyers And Protected the U.S. Economy From Collapse. This week, the Atlanta-based HomeBanc announced it is closing its mortgage loan business, making the company the latest victim of easy credit policies that courted riskier borrowers with loans that carried artificially low interest rates during the first few years and then shot up steeply. When the market was hot, mortgage companies weren’t concerned with whether borrowers had the financial stability to survive an economic downturn. After all, the capital markets were booming and mortgages were being bundled and sold to investors without much regard to risk. So when Georgia lawmakers — in a temporary flash of sound goverance — passed a law to rein in the flourishing subprime market and derail the Wall Street money train, the entire industry rose up in fury. The law permitted claims for unlimited damages against predatory lenders, allowing suits not just against the originating lenders but also against investors who bought mortgage-backed securities. In the short time before it was gutted, the law had no effect on Georgians seeking conventional home loans. Only those borrowers with credit histories suggesting they might have a hard time repaying the loans found it harder to get financing. Now the meltdown of the subprime market is affecting even the big names in the mortgage industry, such as HomeBanc. “We had a moment here in Georgia where we told lenders that they couldn’t lend without regard to repayment ability,” says William Brennan, an Atlanta Legal Aid specialist in mortgage abuses. “But instead the General Assembly gave aid and comfort to these lenders.” [Atlanta Journal Constitution. 08/10/07]
- anon - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:28 am:
the tribe’s argument is like Rauner’s response — too dense and in the weeds. My joe six pack take away was that billionaire bruce rauner plundered yet another company, raped its assets and left the employees out of work. However, this time its much easier to understand. The CEO got $5 million. The out of work employees got a $20 gift card. Until somebody can prove that to be false, thats brutal.
- MrJM (@MisterJayEm) - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:41 am:
“The CEO got $5 million. The out of work employees got a $20 gift card. Until somebody can prove that to be false, thats brutal.”
I would contend that that is the only take-away for the vast majority of undecided voters. And it’s irrefutable.
– MrJM
- Knome Sane - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:45 am:
Before we move on to this question Rich, I noticed this little tidbit in the Trib’s site…
The Tribube reports this morning the following lede in an article:
“If Bruce Rauner’s investment firm had known it was selling a troubled nursing-home company to an unaware old man it would have “put the brakes on the deal,” a former colleague of the candidate testified today in a Florida bankruptcy trial.”
If they had little or no influence over the nursing home, explain why the GTCR executive thought GTCR had the juice to stop it (had they known about the sale to an unwitting dupe)?
- Anyone Remember - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:46 am:
“Education Futures Group (d/b/a Vista College) is a premier provider of for-profit post-secondary education and continuing education.”
http://www.prospect-partners.com/portfolio/a_educationfuturesgroup.shtm
Student Loan default rates?
- Anon - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:47 am:
Man, Rauner truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
- circularfiringsquad - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:48 am:
The Tribbies did not like PQ’s ad because they were one of 3 news organizations who claimed to be looking into HomeBanc, but failed to get anything in print. Failed. The HomeBanc death spiral’s was well in place by the time Mitt and his hustlers cashed out and/or disposed of their holdings as Mr. Shrimp likes to say. If we were at 26th and California that would be called the getaway for the policy wonks all worried about typos.
The new suggestion is based on a Bloomberg list published by Illinois Review in March. EFG is tied into something call Prospect Partners — probably a venture fund.
The media blunders in ‘14 remind us of the media blunders in Jim Edgar’s MSI scandal when editors said the story was too complicated. It really was not. MSI was about thieves stealing millions without a gun and a mask. Rauner Inc. is about predators with access to Wall Street capital (BTW that’s the money we pay into insurance premiums and retirement accounts) getting sliced and diced to work over companies, siphon off the revenue, dance around the maypole and whine about government regulation and the need for tort reform.
THe sadest part of the media failure is that the voter had nothing to go on with Rauner. His record as BizWiz was not really secret. And the media had done a good review of Romney. But let’s write about polls and IDOT.
Sorry about the typos and Rich’s grammar problem — but life is short.
- LincolnLounger - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:51 am:
I truly hope “circularfiringsquad” notes your description. Lots of commenters with which I disagree, but I simply cannot read his comments. Not only do they often not make sense because of the grammar and punctuation, but the sneering, juvenile nicknames are endlessly irritating.
- circularfiringsquad - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:51 am:
Forgot to mention that PQ should have focused on foreclosures and evictions. The lay offs and gift card severance was awful but there are still foreclosure cases.
- goose/gander - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:53 am:
the interest only loans with back loaded principle payments sounds a lot like the pension ramp…… just saying.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:54 am:
To the assignment- The “for profit” education sector is growing rapidly. Corporations and investors (private equity) see the potential because of the billions of public dollars available in education. It is the new growth industry for the private sector. Most of these private schools are eligible for the federally backed student loan program (student loans, I am told, are the largest asset on the federal governments books). Students with federal loans are a guaranteed source of income. The CEO, Jim Tolbert, has the U of Chicago connection that seems to ring a bell.
These for profit colleges and programs, particularly the online version are springing up all over and not getting great reviews. It continues the trend of privatization, albeit using mega public dollars (is that capitalism?) of our educational system.
- Belle - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:56 am:
I assume Rauner didn’t understand that some of this would come out? Or didn’t he care? No matter-It looks sleazy. But, the only thing that matters is that GTCR made their dough.
- John A Logan - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 9:56 am:
The trouble with Rauner’s explanation is that it takes too much explaining. This homebanc hit is going to stick on Rauner because the ad will continue to run, and frankly it’s believable and nearly every average Illinoisan can relate to a cheap skate boss throwing a gift card at employees like they are doing them a wild favor. All the polls are still showing a Rauner lead, but IMO Quinn is picking up steam and is looking better positioned now than he did against Brady in 2010.
- too obvious - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:01 am:
circularfiringsquad is absolutely right that most of the media has done a quite horrible job covering this race.
And the Tribune seems prepared to gloss over almost anything in anticipation of endorsing their guy Rauner again.
Although the Trib does get major props for at least sending a reporter to cover the current GTCR trial in Tampa. Nice that at least one IL outlet could cover a huge trial which is right at the heart of one of the biggest issues of this race.
The Sun-Times meanwhile is this/close to being a waste of time.
- Frenchie Mendoza - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:03 am:
–
I assume Rauner didn’t understand that some of this would come out?
—
I suspect he knew it would come out. I also suspect that Rauner thought — and continues to think — that Illinois voters are not smart enough or sophisticated enough to understand the implications.
I’m guessing — and I’ve thought this since I first started hearing Rauner talk about his “business experience” — that he overestimates his own intelligence and underestimates the intelligence of everyone else.
It’s supremely cynical: the idea that Illinois voters will take him at his word because if he keeps saying it, it must be true. Cynical and creepy — but seems par for the course with wealthy, older business guy. As we’ve heard elsewhere, they always think they’re the smartest guys in the room.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:10 am:
Homebanc wouldn’t originate loans under Georgia’s predatory lender laws, or VA and FHA loans, because they had strict, verifiable underwriting standards.
How’s a predatory lender supposed to make a buck that way?
- Jocko - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:20 am:
Belle nails it! Rauner (and GCTR) always seem to get paid. As for testimonials, they should ask Rahm for a 30 sec spot thanking Bruce for SecurityLink.
As far as the Trib goes, they’re just perpetuating the lie that the crash had more to do with greedy/unqualified borrowers rather than predatory lenders.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:20 am:
Don’t know about Education Futures Group. I assume it relies on student loans much like a number of other for profit education businesses; while some people end up successful, a lot of them end up with a ton of debt and no real career.
The government student loan mill is not really good for the students. Even if you go to a legit college and get a good job, paying off a student loan is tough. Not because you won’t be able to afford it but because Sallie Mae (don’t remember the new names they are switching to as they split SM in two) makes it really, really hard to get pay-off information; they would much rather keep collecting the high interest than have the loan paid off.
- hisgirlfriday - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:21 am:
CFS you need to drop some more bread crumbs on Education Futures Group.
Rauner has some glowing praise for Prospect Partners LLC, investor in EFG, and he is apparently an advisory board member of this according to their company lit. EFG at one point settled a FMLA/ADA complaint brought by a former employee.
That seems about it. Unless you are just anti for-profit post-secondary ed in general.
- Not Rich - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:24 am:
Maybe CFSquad should apply for a job at the Trib??
- MrJM (@MisterJayEm) - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:28 am:
“Life is short”, is what I think as I completely skip-over comments from those who cannot be bothered with niceties like “readability”.
– MrJM
- OneMan - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:29 am:
hisgirlfriday,
Same basic stuff I saw… Glad to see I am not the only one seeing it.
- Liberty - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:34 am:
First, let me say there are plenty of liberal billionaires in the political process. We likely wouldn’t have gay marriage in Illinois without one and certainly a lot of big bucks gets pumped into the Democratic party from wealthy people. Romney retreated from the wealth industry for public service during the most lucrative years when he could have become a billionaire. Rauner on the other hand has shown no interest in public service other than some recent stints and trying to buy influence. I don’t consider his His stupid cheap van commercial is nothing but condescending. Rauner has stalled in the polls because he has nothing to offer but criticism of Quinn. No one needs Rauner’s expertise to criticize Quinn. The just of my comments are to rebut the false comparison’s between Romney and Quinn. It is kind of like comparing all lawyers to each other.
- fair & balanced - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:44 am:
like all things politics, we believe what we want to believe.
lets not let the pesky facts get in the way, who cares if he was not running the business 2+ years before the investment firm sold off their stock ownership and well before the managing owners of the company three years later bankrupted the company !
I think Quinn’s Washington ad is great politically speaking.
- Chris - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:46 am:
Tying the failure of the Georgia Fair Lending Act to *Homebanc* is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY beyond a stretch.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency determined that National Banking Associations did not have to follow the Georgia law when lending in Georgia. That would have left Georgia state-chartered banks at a completely unfair disadvantage, so the legislature repealed it.
That assertion earns 11 Pinocchios on a 10 Pinocchio scale. It simply isn’t based in fact.
- Chris - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:50 am:
re: EFG–
This is baseless speculation, but as with all for-profit colleges, the first thought is that there are more “students” taking out loans and paying tuition than there are students taking classes that will result in a degree; and the second thought is that those who do get a “degree” didn’t receive an education in anything much.
That isn’t necessarily specific to EFG, but a general concern with any of the newer/smaller for-profit “college” businesses.
- Person 8 - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 11:10 am:
to RNUG’s point:
http://youtu.be/P8pjd1QEA0c
The for profit piece is in the middle somewhere.
- jerry 101 - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 11:17 am:
Here’s something on one of Prospect Partners (parent of EFG) portolio companies (per wikipedia):
Criticism[edit]
In 2012, Virginia College was sued by the Mississippi Center for Justice on behalf of seven students. The lawsuit claims that Virginia College misled students about the value of their degrees, and that it specifically targeted misleading advertising to women and minority students.[29]
Also appears that the person heading up EFG, Jim Tolbert, is the former CEO of Virginia College.
More on Education Corporation of America, a Prospect Partners portco (again, from wiki)
Accreditation[edit]
Virginia College, Golf Academy of America, and Ecotech Institute campuses are accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, a national accrediting body, to award certificates, diplomas, and associate’s degrees. Some campus locations are also accredited to offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees. New England College of Business and Finance is regionally accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Mississippi controversies[edit]
In February 2011, 14 former students of ECA’s Virginia College in Jackson, Mississippi sued the school on the grounds that it had not yet received its practical nursing program accreditation from the Mississippi Community College Board (formerly State Board for Community and Junior Colleges in Mississippi).[1] (The school had been granted initial accreditation but had not yet been granted full accreditation status.) The students alleged that they learned the day after graduation that, because the school not been given SBCJC program accreditation, they could not take the nursing exam required to become licensed. Lawyers for the students alleged that the school engaged in fraud by not adequately informing them that the school had not yet received the full program accreditation. School lawyers denied any intent to mislead. Potentially of significance to the case is a document that students in the program were asked to sign. The document includes a notice that Virginia College’s program accreditation process was not complete and that this could jeopardize students’ ability to take the licensure exam. School lawyers also said that all students upon enrollment are required to sign a waiver that defers lawsuits to third-party arbitration. A county judge upheld that provision in an October 2011 ruling, meaning that a jury would not hear the case.[2] On April 20, 2012, members of the Mississippi Community College Board voted unanimously to move Virginia College’s practical nursing program from initial accreditation to full accreditation status.
Another lawsuit was filed in October 2011, this time by students of the surgical technology program. The students alleged similar deception about the school’s program accreditation status, as well as fraudulent fees for dormitory and cafeteria expenses.(The school has no dormitories or cafeteria.)[3] The school has denied the allegations and noted that at the time of the allegations, some graduates of the program were employed as surgical technicians, noting that graduating from a school with the program accreditation in question is not required by the state of Mississippi to gain employment in that field.
National attention[edit]
In 2010, a series of federal investigations revealed abuse in the for-profit education industry. ECA schools were not investigated or implicated in the investigations. The investigations “found that recruiters would lure students — often members of minorities, veterans, the homeless and low-income people — with promises of quick degrees and post-graduation jobs but often leave them poorly prepared and burdened with staggering federal loans.” In response to those investigations, in 2011, the Obama administration proposed a series of rules to crack down on rampant abuse in the industry. In response the proposals, ECA’s owners were instrumental in a lobbying effort, along with other colleges, that found errors in conclusions from a Government Accountability Office investigation, leading the GAO to revise some of its statements about industry practices. 4 During the lobbying blitz, Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, who led congressional hearings into the colleges, claimed he was directly threatened by Avy Stein, a partner in the private equity firm that owns ECA.[4] Mr. Stein denied he threat and said Mr. Harkin’s account was “totally incorrect,” adding: “Under no circumstances would I would ever threaten a U.S. senator.” [4] In the end, Mr. Duncan and his department decided that the initial criteria for determining how effectively schools prepared students for jobs simply went too far. Justin Hamilton, an Education Department spokesman, said the original framework “would have unnecessarily eliminated many, many good schools along with the bad.”[4]
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 11:24 am:
CFS has been one of my favorite commenters here for a long time, ever since I learned how to read the coded messages. I’ve always thought the CFS handle was a team effort too.
Whoever it is, CFS is pretty well placed up the food chain. A lot of the info shared over the years has been spot on. Once you learn the code that is. For most, it’s indecipherable, but for me, I hope CFS doesn’t change a thing.
- Cheswick - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 12:15 pm:
I always try to read circularfiringsquad’s comments, too. I thought the handle was in reference to something Judy Barr Topinka said several years ago. Or maybe I just heard her say it in my mind.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 12:25 pm:
Always have been a big fan of - CFS -.
The - CFS - Code is the genius of the comments, and usually there are enough Easter Eggs out there to pick up what you are missing, so when you go back and read the comment(s) again, you “get it”
To the Post,
I understand the very well made point of an issue, but can you break down to a minute for me…
…be as impactful as a $20 Gift Card?
That’s why I have the respect I have for - CFS -, sees the issues that can have legs if rolled out right.
- Nothing new - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 1:13 pm:
I don’t know about Education Futures, but the for-profit education world is nothing new to Rauner:
http://illinoisfreedom.com/issues/education/
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 1:18 pm:
What I could find out about EFS in an hour.
According to their web site, they have purchased three private 2-year tech schools, consolidated them under the name of Vista College, opened a few more campuses, and started an on-line school. They offer certificates and two-year degrees; they are, in essence, a private community college. They reach out to military folks.
They do not publish their tuition and fees, but I found some on-line comments indicating that that tuition is $25,000. I don’t know if that is for a year, a term or what, but it is much more expensive than getting the same degree at the local community college. Their web site wants you to talk to their reps before they will tell you the cost. Vista College has some of the hallmarks of what is coming to be known as a predatory school. They recruit vets and military folks, charge as much as they can, and try to get you hooked in before they let you know the cost. Whether they actually are or are not, I could not tell.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 5:03 pm:
- Person 8 - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 11:10 am:
the video made my points with a lot more humor …
- TorranceRealtor - Friday, Oct 3, 14 @ 1:59 pm:
Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 25 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has
83 views. I know this is completely off topic but I had to share it with
someone!