Paul Kiel
Paul Kiel covers business and consumer finance for ProPublica.
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Paul Kiel covers business and consumer finance for ProPublica.
In recent years, he’s focused on the U.S. tax system. The Secret IRS Files, which involved a team of ProPublica reporters, revealed key ways the ultrawealthy avoid taxes. Before that, he worked on The TurboTax Trap and Gutting the IRS investigations.
Past areas of focus included the foreclosure crisis, high-cost lending, the use of lawsuits to collect consumer debts, and the consumer bankruptcy system.
He has won numerous awards, including the Selden Ring Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, a Barlett & Steele Award, a Scripps Howard Award twice, a Hillman Prize, and a Philip Meyer Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors.
His work has appeared in several newspapers, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. He has also produced stories for National Public Radio and American Public Media’s Marketplace, as well as appeared on This American Life.
Will Mortgage Settlement Avoid Repeating Obama’s Foreclosure Failures?
Yesterday's mortgage settlement aims to avoid the pitfalls of the administration's floundering foreclosure program, but enforcement is again a question.
Flaws Jeopardize New Attempt to Help Homeowners
The Independent Foreclosure Review seeks to compensate homeowners victimized by big banks, but key elements remain undecided, unclear or secret, while lawmakers and homeowner advocates have criticized some of the known features.
Our FAQ on The National Foreclosure Settlement and Independent Foreclosure Review
Regulators have provided a bare-bones website and frequently asked questions about the foreclosure reviews. But we thought things could be even clearer for readers, so we are providing this FAQ.
Surprise on Refi Revamp: Key Regulator Agrees to Major Program Reforms
Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Edward DeMarco had blocked earlier efforts to help struggling homeowners, but now he’s signed onto a major change to encourage banks to refinance underwater mortgages.
Email Warned That Bank Up For Bailout Was ‘Disastrous’
Anonymous tip warned Treasury that United Commercial Bank was troubled, but the bank still got almost $300 million. Now the bank has failed and two executives are facing criminal charges.
Secret Docs Show Foreclosure Watchdog Doesn’t Bark or Bite
Documents obtained by ProPublica suggest the government coddled mortgage servicers in its flagship foreclosure prevention program despite frequent and serious errors.
One Obstacle to Obama's New Plan to Help Homeowners: A Gov't Regulator
Obama wants to help hurting homeowners refinance into cheaper loans, but that hasn’t gone well so far, and efforts to fix it might be stymied.
Nevada Wallops Bank of America With Sweeping Suit; Nationwide Foreclosure Settlement in Peril
By vastly expanding its suit against Bank of America to include all major stages of the bank's mortgage practices, Nevada signals that the banks' mortgage troubles will likely continue to dog them.
Internal Doc Reveals GMAC Filed False Document in Bid to Foreclose
An internal document obtained by ProPublica shows that when one of the nation's largest mortgage servicers sought to foreclose on a homeowner last year and lacked a crucial document, they just made one up. The case appears to be part of a larger pattern of deceptive filings to foreclose on homeowners.
Bank Errors Continue to Cause Wrongful Foreclosures
Banks continue to blindside homeowners by foreclosing when the homeowners are still awaiting word on their application for a mortgage modification.