Home / Daily Dose / Monitor Credits Citi With $162 Million Toward Settlement Obligation
Print This Post Print This Post

Monitor Credits Citi With $162 Million Toward Settlement Obligation

HELOCCitigroup earned credit for $162.7 million in consumer relief toward fulfilling its $2.5 billion obligation under the terms of a July 2014 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and five states for selling toxic residential mortgage-backed securities to investors before the financial crisis, according to a report from the settlement monitor released Thursday.

The credit earned covers the time period of November 22, 2014, through March 31, 2015, according the report from independent monitor Thomas Perrelli, a former associate U.S. attorney general and now a partner with law firm Jenner & Block.

"We are pleased with our progress under the terms of the Settlement Agreement," Citi spokesman Mark Rodgers said. "Citi remains committed to assisting distressed borrowers in their efforts to avoid potential foreclosure."

Citigroup settled with the DOJ and five states (California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Delaware) for a total of $7 billion in July 2014 amid claims that the bank misled investors as to the quality of mortgage-backed securities it sold. The portion of the penalty that went to the DOJ was $4 billion, which was the largest civil penalty to date under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA). The report released Thursday was Perrelli's third since the settlement was reached.

According to Perrelli's report, Citi submitted a claim for consumer relief credit for loans pursuant to Menu Items 1A, 2A, and 4A of the settlement agreement for the four-month period covering November 22, 2014, through March 31, 2015.

On Menu item 1A, first-lien principal forgiveness, Perrelli credited Citi with $13.1 million in consumer relief through 234 transactions, according to Thursday's report. For Menu Item 2A (rate reduction/refinancing), Citi was credited with $119.9 million in consumer relief through 2,498 transactions. For Menu Item 4A, principal forgiveness where foreclosure is not pursued and liens are released, Perrelli credited the bank with $29.6 million in consumer relief over 636 transactions. The three menu items totaled $162,704,754 in earned consumer credit relief for Citi through 3,368 transactions. The bank has until 2018 to pay the $2.5 billion in consumer relief it agreed to in the July 2014 settlement.

Click here to see a complete copy of the settlement monitor's report.

About Author: Brian Honea

Brian Honea's writing and editing career spans nearly two decades across many forms of media. He served as sports editor for two suburban newspaper chains in the DFW area and has freelanced for such publications as the Yahoo! Contributor Network, Dallas Home Improvement magazine, and the Dallas Morning News. He has written four non-fiction sports books, the latest of which, The Life of Coach Chuck Curtis, was published by the TCU Press in December 2014. A lifelong Texan, Brian received his master's degree from Amberton University in Garland.
x

Check Also

Federal Reserve Holds Rates Steady Moving Into the New Year

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee again chose that no action is better than changing rates as the economy begins to stabilize.