Richard Bitner
Encyclopedia
Richard Bitner is an American
author
and publisher in the mortgage loan
industry.
s from 2000 to 2005. Bitner and his friends started a mortgage business, Plano-based Kellner Mortgage Investments, in September 2000. Kellner was funded through a $175,000 mortgage on his parents' home. They hoped to aid people who lacked the financial standing to receive loans, and in the process, gain profits after those people became homeowners. Each year, the company loaned $250 million to people. After closing loans, the company would sell them to larger lenders, including Countrywide Financial
. Bitner received a six-figure salary for several years beginning in 2002. In 2008, he stated: "Most of that income I never actually saw because I had to put it back into the company to capitalize the loans."
wrote in a review of the book that "Bitner is admirable in that he is willing to take a measure of blame onto himself, when so many others are flailing about furiously trying to do the opposite, but I still think he judges himself somewhat harshly."
Bitner self published the 2008 book Greed, Fraud & Ignorance: A Subprime Lender's Look at the Mortgage Collapse to reveal his story about the 2007 mortgage collapse. Newsweek
said that his book "conveys the authority of someone who was in the trenches where this dirty work was going on".
Harry Smith
of CBS News
interviewed Bitner in February 2009 after Bitner published Confessions of a Subprime Lender.
, where he earned an undergraduate degree in public relations
. He also attended Cornell University
, where he earned a master's degree in communication. He earned both degrees through a scholarships in debate and public speaking
.
Bitner is married and has two children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and publisher in the mortgage loan
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
industry.
Career
A subprime lender, Bitner collaborated with mortgage brokerMortgage broker
A mortgage broker acts as an intermediary whose brokers mortgage loans on behalf of individuals or businesses.Traditionally, banks and other lending institutions have sold their own products. However as markets for mortgages have become more competitive, the role of the mortgage broker has become...
s from 2000 to 2005. Bitner and his friends started a mortgage business, Plano-based Kellner Mortgage Investments, in September 2000. Kellner was funded through a $175,000 mortgage on his parents' home. They hoped to aid people who lacked the financial standing to receive loans, and in the process, gain profits after those people became homeowners. Each year, the company loaned $250 million to people. After closing loans, the company would sell them to larger lenders, including Countrywide Financial
Countrywide Financial
Bank of America Home Loans is the mortgage unit of Bank of America. Bank of America Home Loans is composed of:*Mortgage Banking, which originates purchases, securitizes, and services mortgages. In 2008, Bank of America purchased the failing Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion...
. Bitner received a six-figure salary for several years beginning in 2002. In 2008, he stated: "Most of that income I never actually saw because I had to put it back into the company to capitalize the loans."
Books
In his 2008 book, Confessions of a Subprime Lender, he discussed how their salutary aims were overridden by a hunger for financial gain. Brokers "gamed the system", using poor criteria to grant loans. Bitner believed that many people were accepting loans they could not pay off. Bitner exited from his company in 2005 because he felt uncomfortable about the daring loans. The two friends with whom he started the company purchased his shares because they wished to gradually, instead of immediately, close the company. His former company failed in 2007, one of the many casualties during the numerous defaults early that year. Julian Delasantellis of Asia Times OnlineAsia Times Online
Asia Times Online is a bilingual English‒Chinese, Internet-based newspaper covering geopolitics, politics, economics and business "from an Asian perspective"...
wrote in a review of the book that "Bitner is admirable in that he is willing to take a measure of blame onto himself, when so many others are flailing about furiously trying to do the opposite, but I still think he judges himself somewhat harshly."
Bitner self published the 2008 book Greed, Fraud & Ignorance: A Subprime Lender's Look at the Mortgage Collapse to reveal his story about the 2007 mortgage collapse. Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
said that his book "conveys the authority of someone who was in the trenches where this dirty work was going on".
Harry Smith
Harry Smith (television)
Harry Smith is an American television journalist. He hosted the CBS News morning programs, The Early Show and its predecessor, CBS This Morning, for 17 years...
of CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
interviewed Bitner in February 2009 after Bitner published Confessions of a Subprime Lender.
Personal life
Bitner attended Northern Arizona UniversityNorthern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...
, where he earned an undergraduate degree in public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
. He also attended Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he earned a master's degree in communication. He earned both degrees through a scholarships in debate and public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
.
Bitner is married and has two children.