The following is Joe Bialek's letter published here with his permission:
Five years ago I was an underwriter for a sub-prime mortgage company {Novastar Mortgage} that is now closed. It seems that most media outlets and government officials fain ignorance about the real underlying cause of the problem. There is
either a tendency to blame the borrower or act as though no one in the industry {or outside of it} saw this coming. They fail to mention that those who gained the most financially got off scot free while leaving the mess behind for everyone else to clean up. In my former company, the sales managers and loan officers "held the keys to the safe" while deciding which guidelines to ignore sometimes going so far as to bribe fellow underwriters to "look the
other way". Sales managers often overrode an underwriter's decision they did not agree with. Other times fellow underwriters would be threatened with their job for "impeding company growth and progress" just because they refused to go along with the flagrant disregard of guidelines . I complained to the sales managers about the bribing but all I got was a formal write-up for making "inappropriate comments".
There was absolutely no support from the owner of the company all the way to the human resource representative. This company was as corrupt as they come. I can't tell you the number of sexual affairs that occurred between married and unmarried people; primarily among the management staff {at the workplace itself}. Promotions were strictly political thus moving people "up the ladder" who never proved themselves worthy or were on a final written warning to be terminated {for poor performance}. As a result of the
corrupt management of this company, I and several hundred others were laid off. I believe the federal government needs to investigate this company and bring to trial those corrupt individuals who broke the law. This would set an example for the rest of the mortgage industry that absolute corruption corrupts absolutely. It is time to end the corruption. Now do something about it!!!
Joe Bialek
Cleveland, OH
"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric." Bertrand Russell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8QodEGQpCY