Thousands of Days Late, Billions of Dollars Short: OCC – Correcting Foreclosure Practices

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Correcting Foreclosure Practices

Payments to Eligible Borrowers Begin April 12

Payments to 4.2 million borrowers are scheduled to begin on April 12 following an agreement reached by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board with 13 mortgage servicers.

The agreement, which was reached earlier this year, provides $3.6 billion in cash payments to borrowers whose homes were in any stage of the foreclosure process in 2009 or 2010 and whose mortgages were serviced by one of the following companies, their affiliates, or subsidiaries: Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, PNC, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

The payments will range from $300 to $125,000.  Additional details about these payments can be found in the IFR Payment Agreement Details.  Checks will be sent in several waves beginning with 1.4 million checks on April 12.  The final wave is expected in mid-July 2013.  More than 90 percent of the total payments to borrowers at those 11 servicers are expected to have been sent by the end of April.  Information about payments to borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will be published by the Federal Reserve Board soon.

In most cases, borrowers will receive a letter with an enclosed check sent by the Paying Agent—Rust Consulting, Inc.  Some borrowers may receive letters from Rust requesting additional information needed to process their payments.  Previously, Rust sent postcards to the 4.2 million borrowers notifying them of their eligibility to receive payment under the agreement.

Rust is sending all payments and correspondence regarding the foreclosure agreement at the direction of the OCC and the Federal Reserve.

Borrowers can call Rust at 1-888-952-9105 to update their contact information or to verify that they are covered by the agreement.  Information provided to Rust will only be used for purposes related to the agreement.  Borrowers should beware of scams and anyone asking them to call a different number or to pay a fee to receive payment under the agreement.

Accepting a payment will not prevent borrowers from taking any action they may wish to pursue related to their foreclosure.

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.

• Borrowers Quick Reference Guide to the Financial Remediation Framework
• The Financial Remediation Framework
• Detailed Questions and Answers

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.

In April, the OCC issued guidance applicable to large and midsize national banks and federal savings associations that requires mortgage servicers to review foreclosures prior to their completion to ensure the servicer is complying with applicable laws and regulations and that appropriate foreclosure prevention efforts have been made.  This guidance issued in April applies to all large and midsize national banks and federal savings associations not just those servicers covered by our foreclosure-related enforcement actions issued in April 2011.

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):

• Consent Order for Aurora Bank, FSB (PDF)
• Consent Order for Bank of America (PDF)
• Consent Order for Citibank (PDF)
• Consent Orders for EverBank and EverBank Financial Corp. (PDF)
• Consent Order for HSBC Bank (PDF)
• Consent Order for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (PDF)
• Consent Order for LPS; DocX, LLC; and LPD Default Solutions, Inc. (PDF)
• Consent Order for MetLife Bank, N.A. (PDF)
• Consent Order for MERSCORP and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) (PDF)
• Consent Orders for OneWest Bank, FSB and IMB HoldCo LLC (PDF)
• Consent Order for PNC Bank, N.A. (PDF)
• Consent Order for Sovereign Bank (PDF)
• Consent Order for U.S. Bank National Association, U.S. Bank National Association ND (PDF)
• Consent Order for Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (PDF)

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

• Consent Order Amendment for Aurora Bank, FSB (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for Bank of America (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for Citibank (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for HSBC Bank (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for MetLife Bank, N.A. (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for PNC Bank, N.A. (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for Sovereign Bank (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for U.S. Bank National Association, U.S. Bank National Association ND (PDF)
• Consent Order Amendment for Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (PDF)