It’s a much-discussed subject in the mortgage lending industry: Can lenders effectively save borrowers through internal loss mitigation programs if the companies behind those measures are not required to report their home retention strategies and success rates to public officialsx
At least that’s the question California Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has been asking for a few weeks—and now he has the passage of a bill within the state assembly as assurance that perhaps his state will eventually require lenders and servicers to report loss mitigation results publicly.

Although Assembly Bill 69 still has to pass the state Senate before ending up on the Governor’s desk, Lieu is further along in the process with the state assembly agreeing to move the bill forward on Tuesday.
The bill was created on the philosophy that lenders are not required to participate or submit loss mitigation data; therefore, the state cannot accurately assess whether measures are being made to prevent foreclosures.
“It’s great that the President and the Governor are working to help homeowners, but foreclosures are continuing to rise dramatically,” Lieu said. “We need some proof that these programs are more than just happy talk.”
Assembly Bill 69 is just one bill in a package of legislative proposals that California Assembly Democrats are trying to get through to stem the rising tide of foreclosures.
Lieu’s office said, “Under AB 69, residential mortgage lenders would be required to report on all of their loan loss mitigation efforts to the Department of Corporations every month. State licensed banks and credit unions would report to the Department of Financial Institutions. Both departments would make the information publicly available.”
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