Mortgage Bankers Association Forced Into Short Sale: Today's Outrage
WASHINGTON (
) --How bad is the mortgage crisis?
It's so bad that the
Mortgage Bankers Association
had to sell its headquarters at a loss.
Sounds like one of those jokes that make the rounds on the Internet, but sadly this one is true.
The Mortgage Bankers Association sold its Washington headquarters building to
CoStar
(CSGP) - Get Report
, a commercial real estate data firm, for $41.3 million, a little more than half the $79 million the group originally financed in 2007 through a group of banks led by
PNC Financial
(PNC) - Get Report
, according to the
Wall Street Journal
.
This is more than a little embarrassing for a group that represents some 2,400 lenders, loan brokers, commercial banks, thrifts and life insurance companies.
You expect more from a group whose directors include executives from
JPMorgan Chase
(JPM) - Get Report
,
KeyCorp
(KEY) - Get Report
and other notable financial companies and whose sponsors for its 2009 annual convention included big banks such as
Citigroup
(C) - Get Report
,
Wells Fargo
(WFC) - Get Report
along with
Fannie Mae
(FNM)
and
Freddie Mac
(FRE)
.
Surely
someone
affiliated with the Mortgage Bankers Association should have known better.
--Written by Glenn Hall in New York.
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