Michael Hudson (reporter)
Encyclopedia
Michael Hudson (born 1961, Richmond, Virginia, USA) is an American investigative reporter and author. Hudson currently writes about business and finance for the Center for Public Integrity
, a nonprofit journalism organization. He has worked as a staff writer for The Roanoke Times in Virginia and The Wall Street Journal
in New York and as a senior investigator with the Center for Responsible Lending
, a non-profit research and policy group. He was co-author of Merchants of Misery: How Corporate America Profits from Poverty, Common Courage Press, 1996. He is also the author of The Monster: How a gang of predatory lenders and Wall Street bankers fleeced America – and spawned a global crisis, which will be published in October 2010 by Times Books. The book focuses on two firms – Ameriquest Mortgage
and Lehman Brothers
– that were key players in the rise and fall of the subprime mortgage industry.
In February 2005, Hudson and Los Angeles Times staff writer Scott Reckard broke a story about “boiler room” sales tactics at Ameriquest Mortgage
, the nation’s largest subprime lender and sponsor of the 2005 Super Bowl half-time show. Columbia Journalism Review called the “boiler room” story and a follow-up piece “[t]wo of the most revealing stories on the culture that overtook the lending industry.” Ameriquest later agreed to pay a $325 million predatory lending settlement with authorities in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
In June 2008, Ireland’s Sunday Business Post cited Hudson’s 1996 book, Merchants of Misery, for “describ[ing], in great detail, how mortgage-backed securities invented in the 1980s were making a large pool of money available to shady lenders who were making predatory loans to very poor customers at very high rates.”
At the Center for Public Integrity, Hudson has focused on whistleblower issues and other financial stories, writing about the U.S. Department of Labor’s record in protecting workers who filed for whistleblower status under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform act and about a former Fannie Mae consultant who claimed the mortgage giant had bungled its stewardship of the federal government’s foreclosure-prevention effort through “mismanagement and gross waste of public funds.”
. The lawyers called Hudson’s book, Merchants of Misery, which included a chapter on Ford and Associates, “impertinent” and “scandalous.” IndyMac Bank objected to a June 30, 2008, report that Hudson wrote for the Center for Responsible Lending, IndyMac: What Went Wrong?, which found evidence that the bank had “engaged in unsound and abusive lending during the mortgage boom, routinely making loans without regard to borrowers’ ability to repay.” Shortly before the bank was seized by federal regulators, an IndyMac spokesman dismissed the report as a “hit piece” that “relies on unsubstantiated anecdotal evidence.” The U.S. Department of the Treasury inspector general’s office later reported that its investigation indicated IndyMac had done “little, if any, review of borrower qualifications, including income, assets and employment.”
Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy and committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around...
, a nonprofit journalism organization. He has worked as a staff writer for The Roanoke Times in Virginia and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
in New York and as a senior investigator with the Center for Responsible Lending
Center for Responsible Lending
The Center for Responsible Lending is a nonprofit organization non-partisan research and policy group based in Durham, North Carolina and with offices in Washington DC and Oakland, Calif. Its purpose is to educate the public about financial products and to push for policies that curb predatory...
, a non-profit research and policy group. He was co-author of Merchants of Misery: How Corporate America Profits from Poverty, Common Courage Press, 1996. He is also the author of The Monster: How a gang of predatory lenders and Wall Street bankers fleeced America – and spawned a global crisis, which will be published in October 2010 by Times Books. The book focuses on two firms – Ameriquest Mortgage
Ameriquest Mortgage
Ameriquest was one of the United States' leading wholesale lenders, and the largest sub-prime lender in the nation until all but four of its top-performing retail offices were closed in September of 2007. Its loan origination practices were at the heart of the Financial crisis of 2007–2010...
and Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
– that were key players in the rise and fall of the subprime mortgage industry.
Highlights
Columbia Journalism Review has credited Hudson as the reporter who “beat the world on subprime abuses.” Hudson began investigating the subprime industry in the early 1990s. He shared a John Hancock Award for financial reporting and a Sidney Hillman Award for social justice journalism for stories in the Southern Exposure Magazine’s Fall 1993 issue titled “Poverty Inc.,” about subprime lenders and other businesses that market to low-income and minority consumers. Those stories were also named as a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Hudson shared a George Polk Award for magazine reporting and a Harry Chapin Media Award for stories in the Summer 2003 issue of Southern Exposure about Citigroup’s subprime mortgage lending operations.In February 2005, Hudson and Los Angeles Times staff writer Scott Reckard broke a story about “boiler room” sales tactics at Ameriquest Mortgage
Ameriquest Mortgage
Ameriquest was one of the United States' leading wholesale lenders, and the largest sub-prime lender in the nation until all but four of its top-performing retail offices were closed in September of 2007. Its loan origination practices were at the heart of the Financial crisis of 2007–2010...
, the nation’s largest subprime lender and sponsor of the 2005 Super Bowl half-time show. Columbia Journalism Review called the “boiler room” story and a follow-up piece “[t]wo of the most revealing stories on the culture that overtook the lending industry.” Ameriquest later agreed to pay a $325 million predatory lending settlement with authorities in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
In June 2008, Ireland’s Sunday Business Post cited Hudson’s 1996 book, Merchants of Misery, for “describ[ing], in great detail, how mortgage-backed securities invented in the 1980s were making a large pool of money available to shady lenders who were making predatory loans to very poor customers at very high rates.”
At the Center for Public Integrity, Hudson has focused on whistleblower issues and other financial stories, writing about the U.S. Department of Labor’s record in protecting workers who filed for whistleblower status under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform act and about a former Fannie Mae consultant who claimed the mortgage giant had bungled its stewardship of the federal government’s foreclosure-prevention effort through “mismanagement and gross waste of public funds.”
Critics
Some business representatives have been critical of Hudson’s reporting. Lawyers for Ford Motor Company criticized Hudson’s 1990s reporting on Associates Financial Services, the Ford subprime lending subsidiary that was later the subject of a predatory lending settlement with the Federal Trade CommissionFederal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
. The lawyers called Hudson’s book, Merchants of Misery, which included a chapter on Ford and Associates, “impertinent” and “scandalous.” IndyMac Bank objected to a June 30, 2008, report that Hudson wrote for the Center for Responsible Lending, IndyMac: What Went Wrong?, which found evidence that the bank had “engaged in unsound and abusive lending during the mortgage boom, routinely making loans without regard to borrowers’ ability to repay.” Shortly before the bank was seized by federal regulators, an IndyMac spokesman dismissed the report as a “hit piece” that “relies on unsubstantiated anecdotal evidence.” The U.S. Department of the Treasury inspector general’s office later reported that its investigation indicated IndyMac had done “little, if any, review of borrower qualifications, including income, assets and employment.”