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Dayton Business Journal...
Big banks offer $5
billion foreclosure settlement
by DBJ Staff
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Big banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup have
proposed a $5 billion settlement with state and federal regulators over
foreclosure practices, according to news reports.
Five of the country’s biggest banks have offered to settle state and
federal investigations into their foreclosure practices for $5 billion,
according to a new report by Bloomberg.
The top U.S. mortgage servicers involved in the proposed settlement
include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase &
Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Ally Financial, according to Bloomberg,
citing people familiar with the matter.
The settlement offer came Tuesday during negotiations in Washington,
D.C., the report said. Those five banks service nearly 60 percent of
all U.S. home loans.
The probe by all 50 states started after claims that the banks were
using faulty foreclosure practices following the housing collapse.
An original settlement proposal from the states and federal agencies
had sought a deal to reduce principal amounts for borrowers.
Many of the top banks said last fall they would put moratoriums on
foreclosures after political pressure started to mount.
But in launching their investigations in October, the coalition of
attorneys general said the banks’ foreclosure procedures raise serious
concerns.
“What we have seen are not mere technicalities,” said then-Ohio
Attorney General Richard Cordray. “This is about the private property
rights of homeowners facing foreclosure and the integrity of our court
system, which cannot enter judgments based on fraudulent evidence.”
Ohio’s AG also filed suit separately against GMAC Mortgage LLC over
allegations of so-called “robo-signing.”
Among the banks that reportedly temporarily halted their foreclosures
last fall included Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo & Co.
(NYSE: WFC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citi Mortgage (NYSE: C), PNC
Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC), SunTrust Mortgage (NYSE:
STI), PHH Mortgage (NYSE: PHH), OneWest Bank, Aurora Bank, US Bancorp
Home Mortgage (NYSE: USB), HSBC (NYSE: HBC), MetLife Home Loans (NYSE:
MET), BB&T Mortgage (NYSE: BBT) and American Home Mortgage
Servicing.
Read it with links at Dayton Business Journal
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