Tag Archives: OCC

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve issued statements Thursday detailing monetary penalties they have levied against the nation's largest servicers for ""unsafe and unsound mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices."" The OCC is assessing a total of $394 million in penalties against Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The Federal Reserve's monetary sanctions total $766.5 million and target the same four institutions as well as Ally Financial.

Four federal regulatory agencies issued guidance for junior lien holders regarding loan loss allowances. Junior liens include second mortgages and home equity lines of credit. The Federal Reserve, FDIC, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued the guidance not to enact new rules, but rather ""to reiterate policy and to remind regulated financial institutions to monitor all credit quality indicators relevant to credit portfolios, including junior liens,"" according to a joint release from the agencies.

One Ohio congressman is taking the plight of homeowners in his foreclosure-ravaged state straight to federal regulators. Sen. Sherrod Brown says guidance issued to mortgage servicers last month by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) amounts to ""a free pass"" for banks to abandon foreclosed homes, a practice Brown says undermines neighborhoods and property values and leaves local taxpayers on the hook for maintenance and cleanup costs.

Treasury released a new report Monday highlighting results from the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Nearly 910,000 homeowners have received a permanent HAMP modification, saving $9.9 billion in monthly mortgage payments. Officials say they will continue to press servicers to assist underwater borrowers and address second-lien issues. A total of 38,243 principal-reducing permanent HAMP mods have been granted, and 54,828 second-lien mods have been started under the federal program.

Advertisements informing the public about the independent foreclosure reviews underway for 14 major mortgage servicers hit the presses and the radio airwaves Wednesday. Released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the announcements inform the public that those who underwent foreclosure in 2009 and 2010 might be eligible for an independent case review if there is reason to believe they suffered financially as a result of mistakes made by their servicer.

First-lien mortgage performance among large national banks' servicing portfolios is stabilizing, with 88 percent current over the third quarter of this year, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Delinquencies - both early stage and serious delinquencies - remained unchanged, with 3 percent of loans 30 days to 59 days delinquent and 4.9 percent 60 or more days delinquent. However, new foreclosures rose 21.1 percent. The OCC says nearly half of the loans modified since 2008 have since redefaulted.

At a Senate subcommittee hearing examining the progress of the foreclosure review process ordered earlier this year, lawmakers questioned officials from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve about the impartiality of the ""independent reviews."" Senators asked whether any of the consultants hired to conduct the reviews had worked with the servicers previously. The regulators admitted that some had. Members of the subcommittee say these past ties raise doubts about the true independence of the examiners.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has launched an investigation into the possible wrongful foreclosures of about 5,000 military members by 10 of the nation's largest banks. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), signed into law in 2003, protects military members from foreclosure while on active duty. Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina is calling for officials to pursue criminal charges should SCRA violations be substantiated.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a report Tuesday on actions taken to correct deficiencies in mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing by the 12 institutions it oversees. The OCC has made public the names of the independent consultants retained for foreclosure reviews, and notes that evaluations of certain cases and mailings to more than 4 million borrowers are underway. The agency says all servicers have instituted policies to end dual-tracking and provide borrowers with a single point of contact.

As several large servicers begin the lengthy process of an independent foreclosure review, Rep. Maxine Waters of California is repeating her request that the process be made public. Waters addresses several concerns in her most recent request, including the difficulty of reaching some of the affected borrowers, conflicts of interests between the banks and the independent reviewers, and the qualifications of those contracted to audit foreclosure cases. Fifteen of Waters' colleagues joined her in her appeal for transparency.