Bank of America Sued by BNP, Deutsche Bank Over $1.6 bn Asset Backed Commercial Paper

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, was sued by BNP Paribas Mortgage Corp. and Deutsche Bank AG over hundreds of millions of dollars in losses they sustained by investing in asset-backed commercial paper.

BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank today filed separate lawsuits in Manhattan federal court. They say they bought a total of $1.6 billion in asset-backed notes issued by a special purpose entity known as Ocala Funding LLC, which provided funding for mortgage loans originated by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. To reduce risk, they say they insisted that Ocala hold $1.6 billion in cash or mortgage loans as collateral to be deposited with Bank of America, the deal’s trustee.

Deutsche Bank “trusted that BofA, one of the nation’s largest and most well-known financial institutions, would perform the gatekeeper function reasonably and responsibly,” the Frankfurt-based bank says in its complaint. “In myriad ways, BofA failed to carry out its various duties designed to protect DB’s investment.”

Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest bank, said in its third- quarter earnings statement on Oct. 29 that it lost about 350 million euros ($527 million) in the deal. Paris-based BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, didn’t say in its complaint how much it lost.

William Halldin, a spokesman for Charlotte, North Carolina- based Bank of America, didn’t have an immediate comment.

Misled Banks

Ocala was a commercial-paper vehicle sponsored by now- bankrupt Taylor Bean, which was the 12th-largest U.S. home lender. Taylor Bean received funding from Colonial Bank, an Alabama lender under U.S. investigation. The commercial paper, or short-term IOUs, was backed by residential mortgages.

BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank claim that Bank of America improperly transferred billions of dollars out of Ocala accounts; didn’t track mortgages it was holding as security, as it promised to do; issued false statements about the amount of collateral it held; and took other steps that misled the two banks.

The lawsuits are Deutsche Bank v. Bank of America, 09-cv- 9784, and BNP Paribas v. Bank of America, 09-cv-9783, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIwJ6N5fgjk8&pos=7

"Gatekeeper function" ? LOL ! They must have lost the key...