Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Correcting Foreclosure Practices

Updated March 28, 2013

Independent Foreclosure Review Payment Agreement

On March 18, 2013, more than 4.2 million people were sent postcard notices about payments they will receive as a result of an agreement between federal banking regulators and 13 mortgage servicers. For more information, please call 1-888-952-9105, which is the number for Rust Consulting—the Paying Agent—that is printed on each postcard.

These 4.2 million people include eligible borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, PNC, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. In January 2013, these 13 mortgage servicing companies reached an agreement in principle with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board to pay more than $9.3 billion in cash payments and other assistance to help borrowers. The settlement concluded the Independent Foreclosure Review for these 13 servicers and will result in $3.6 billion in cash payments to nearly 4.2 million eligible borrowers and $5.7 billion in additional assistance. More about the Independent Foreclosure Review Agreements.

Borrowers will not be required to execute a waiver of any legal claims they may have against their servicer as a condition for receiving payment. In addition, the servicers’ internal complaint process will remain available to borrowers.

Watch out for scams. Beware of anyone who asks you to call a different phone number than the number above or to pay a fee to receive a payment under the agreement. See frequently asked questions about the agreement.

Continuing Reviews for Customers of EverBank, GMAC Mortgage, and OneWest

For borrowers with mortgage loans with the following servicers: EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Company, Financial Freedom (OneWest), GMAC Mortgage, and IndyMac Mortgage Services (OneWest), the Independent Foreclosure Review process continues. More about the continuing reviews.

OCC and Federal Reserve examiners are continuing to closely monitor the servicers’ implementation of plans required by the enforcement actions issued in April 2011 to correct the unsafe and unsound mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices.

Financial Remediation Framework for the Continuing Reviews

For servicers whose Independent Foreclosure Review continues, the consultants will use the framework to recommend remediation for financial injury identified during the Independent Foreclosure Review. The servicers will prepare remediation plans based on the consultants’ recommendations. The federal banking regulators must approve each servicer’s remediation plan. The framework helps ensure that similarly situated borrowers receive similar treatment.

Foreclosure Prevention Assistance

Regulators encourage borrowers needing foreclosure prevention assistance to work directly with their servicer or contact the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE (4673) (or at www.makinghomeaffordable.gov) to be put you in touch with a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved nonprofit organization that can provide free assistance.

Additional Background Information

Request for Review Response Data

The OCC and Federal Reserve have released data on the number of eligible borrowers who have requested a review by state and county through the end of September 2012. Click to view that data.

Engagement Letters

The OCC released engagement letters that describe how the independent consultants, retained by the servicers, will conduct their reviews and claims processes in accordance with the OCC’s consent orders. See the engagement letters.

Interim Report

On June 21, 2012, the OCC released its second interim report on the status of the Independent Foreclosure Review and actions required by consent orders issued in April 2011 to correct deficient mortgage servicing and foreclosure processes. Read the report.

About the Enforcement Actions

The enforcement actions were based on interagency examinations conducted in the fourth quarter of 2010. A summary of the findings of the interagency reviews is available in the Interagency Review of Foreclosure Policies and Practices, which was produced by the OCC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the OTS.

Links to the OCC and former OTS Enforcement Actions (Issued April 2011):

Links to Enforcement Action Amendments for Servicers Entering the Independent Foreclosure Review Payment Agreement (Issued February 2013):

SOURCE: http://www.occ.gov/

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