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Lawsuits Better at Assigning Liability for Crisis Than Regulators, NewOak Says

The circular nature of lawsuits filed in recent could leave many scratching their heads in the search for accountability, according to  James Frischling, president and co-founder of NewOak Capital.

"Lawsuits continue to be filed in connection with the financial crisis," Frischling said. "The regulators just filed lawsuits against the former CEOs at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs have filed lawsuits against many of the banks that sold the agencies mortgage products."

He added that the banks have sued the insurers who have not made good on their claims, while the insurers in turn have sued the banks over products they have insured for these financial institutions. Lastly, investors have filed suits against all of these key market players previously mentioned.

Frischling believes that the lawsuits might be better at educating the market about the cause of the crisis and assigning accountability compared with the current regulatory efforts.

"The Securities Exchange Commission, Congress and others have tried to get to the bottom of it, but the interwoven nature of the market participants makes this a daunting task," he said.

Frischling cited Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., leading an effort in 2010 to investigate the origins of the financial crisis, although not a lotl has happened since the report was made public.

"Rather than looking to the government, it may very well be in the lawsuits that we find some answers," Frischling stated. "The saying goes that the wheels of justice move slowly, so while it will be a long slow process, the courts may very well be the place where accountability is found."

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