The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently enforced restrictions on the mortgage-servicing operations of six banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. The Office claimed that these banks were not properly complying with enforcement orders, regarding past home foreclosure abuses. According to the OCC, these banks failed to meet all the requirements of consent orders, which had been issued in 2011. These orders were focused on foreclosure-processing mistakes. The 2011 orders sparked controversy regarding America’s major banks’ foreclosure files, to determine how many borrowers should be compensated. In 2013, the OCC and the Federal Reserve stopped this review before it was completed and regulators settled with 15 banks related to foreclosure problems.
Other banks have also been slapped with penalties and fines for failing to complete required corrective actions. These banks included EverBank Financial Corp., HSBC Holdings PLC, Santander Holdings USA Inc. and U.S. Bancorp. While the issues found by the OCC varied by each bank, each instance included unresolved problems with the information systems that the banks used to track foreclosure and loan modification activities, and the quality of communication with borrowers. There was also a lack of adequate follow up regarding the loan modification and foreclosure process, and servicing duties handled by third-party contractors.
The six banks in question now have restrictions placed on their mortgage servicing operations, as well as limitations on the banks’ ability to acquire residential mortgage servicing rights or outsource their existing mortgage servicing rights. In recent years, a great number of banks have backed out from the mortgage-servicing industry. However, according to the OCC officials, mortgage servicing remains a “significant activity” for each of the six banks. It also continues to remain a major part of the business strategy for many institutions.
J.P. Morgan claims to have made significant progress, with plans to complete their remaining items by summer’s end. As for HSBC and Wells Fargo, they will receive the harshest restrictions. OCC officials call this a reflection of both the number and severity of the outstanding problems with these two banks. Wells Fargo president Mike Heid, claims, “We will continue to work with the OCC to address the remaining items, and we have in place an action plan to complete that work in the coming months.”
The National bank units of Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and PNC Financial Services Corp. have had their consent order lifted by the OCC. To date, the OCC program has distributed more than $2.7 billion to more than 3.2 million borrowers from banks overseen by the regulator, representing more than 90% of the total funds available.
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Source:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-restricts-six-banks-over-mortgage-problems-1434553589
