We all know MERS is a bad actor that has corrupted title to millions of properties around the country, serving as the dummy corporation for the fake securitization of mortgages (really promissory notes).  Thankfully, as pointed out here and elsewhere, judges such as Nelva Gonzales Ramos  are starting to not only get that, but forcefully rule against MERS.  Long story short, MERS was ascendant for a while but it looks like that is beginning to change.  And MERS–as well as its bank/corporate owners–know that the end of MERS is nigh, and that would be a nightmare for them because without MERS to hide their shenanigans, it’s game over for the banks and their foreclosure fraud.

So what to do?

In order to preserve the function of MERS, if not MERS itself, the banks have gotten one of their many wind-up toys to propose some horrible legislation that, if passed, would create a new national mortgage database that would be just like MERS but wouldn’t use MERS’ deservedly soiled name.  We’ll let David Dayen pick it up from here:

“The top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee has tucked a  provision into his mortgage finance reform bill that would create a privately  held ‘National Mortgage Data Repository.’ The repository would basically look  like MERS, the bank-owned electronic database tracking mortgage transfers. The  difference is that, while MERS’ activities have drawn legal challenges across  the country, the National Mortgage Data Repository would have the force of  statute to carry out the exact same behavior. According to the bill text, any  document arising from this repository would be seen as presumptively legal,  pre-empting state and federal laws on demonstrating the right to foreclose.”

The banks want you homeless by any means necessary

This proposal actually is good in that it signals the desperation of the banks.  They know very well that the judicial walls are slowly closing in on them, especially after the consent orders, the settlements that they aren’t following, the botched “Independent” Foreclosure Review, and so on.  They know well that “sooner or later, God’ll cut [them] down.”

But it also shows that, by God, they want to make as many Americans homeless as possible, and they want to be able to do it on their say-so.  That’s why the new proposed registry will still be private–again, just like MERS.  The banks’ sole interest is power and control, and they figure it’s time to make it all nice ‘n’ legal with a real-life, honest-to-goodness law (usually anathema to them).  After all, isn’t that what everybody complained about with MERS, that there was never any law authorizing MERS?  That MERS was just created and rammed through the property records without any legislature ever ratifying it beforehand?

Oppose this joke of a “bill” with all your might.  This is a proposal to legalize paper terrorism–for banks, natch, and not for you and me.  The sponsor is Jeb Hensarling of Texas (how sweet for the banks if a Texas representative got this done since MERS is currently being challenged hot and heavy in Texas).  This new MERS is part of a larger bill called the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act (PATH).  Shut it down!