Mortgage Companies Forgiving Homeowners Big Time

First report of the foreclosure abuse settlement shows banks swiftly pardoned half of the $20 bil required

As a result of the National Mortgage Settlement that was reached in April by five major mortgage providers, home owners are starting to receive all kinds of letters in the mail telling them they are no longer required to pay, or they don’t have to pay as much as agreed.









The $20 billion foreclosure abuse settlement was reached with defendants as follows:

Mortgage Provider

1) Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank of America”)
Required Amount: $8.57 billion

2) Wells Fargo & Company and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Required Amount: $4.33 bil

3) J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Chase”)
Required Amount: $4.21 bil

4)  CitiMortgage, Inc. (“Citi”)
Required Amount: $1.78 bil

5) Ally Financial, (“Ally”)
Required Amount: $200 million

According to the first preliminary report released in August by a monitor of these banks, $10.56 billion in consumer relief has already been granted. So, If you are struggling to pay your mortgage with one of these servicers and you have not received your letter, you better make a call.

“ If a Servicer’s total commitment is not fully satisfied within three years, it will be required to pay a penalty of no less than 125 percent of its unmet commitment amount,” the preliminary report states.

The relief that the mortgage companies are required to provide may be executed in a variety of forms such as waivers, first and second loan modifications, short sales or forbearance for unemployed borrowers.

Sources:
Appendix V of the National Settlement Report, dated August 29, 2012

Mortgage Oversight Report
Consumer Relief (aggregate: $19,112,600,000)

Non-Refinance Relief
Each servicer is required to provide a specified dollar amount of relief to consumers who meet eligibility criteria in the forms and amounts described in paragraphs 1-8 of Exhibit D (Consumer Relief Requirements) (paragraphs 1-8 of Exhibit D: 1. First Lien Mortgage Modification; 2. Second Lien Portfolio Modifications; 3. Enhanced Borrower Transitional Funds; 4. Short Sales; 5. Deficiency Waivers; 6. Forbearance for Unemployed Borrowers; 7.
Anti-Blight Provisions; and 8. Benefits for Servicemembers). Each Servicer will receive credit toward its respective obligations as set out in Exhibit D.

Specified Dollars per Servicer (aggregate: $16,331,600,000)
Ally – $185,000,000
Bank of America – $7,626,200,000
Citi – $1,411,000,000
Chase – $3,675,400,000
Wells – $3,434,000,000

Refinance Relief
Each Servicer is required to provide a specified dollar amount of refinancing relief to consumers who meet the eligibility criteria in the forms and amounts described in paragraph 9 of Exhibit D. The purpose is to remediate harms caused by the alleged unlawful conduct of each Servicer. Each Servicer will receive credit toward its respective obligations as set out in Exhibit D.

Specified Dollars per Servicer (aggregate: $2,781,000,000)
Ally – $15,000,000
Bank of America – $948,000,000
Citi - $378,000,000
Chase – $537,000,000
Wells – $903,000,000

SOURCE: Sakina Spruell