Wells, Citi Halt Most Foreclosure Sales as OCC Ratchets Up Scrutiny
Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) have halted the vast majority of their foreclosure sales in multiple states following the release of new guidance by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The abrupt slowdown came in response to the OCC’s April release of minimum standardsfor foreclosure sales, which are usually the final act in the foreclosure process. The Federal Reserve issued identical guidance to the banks it oversees, making the guidelines universal for the industry.
Within two weeks of the release of the guidance, Wells Fargo, Citi and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) all but stopped foreclosure sales, which are usually the point of no return in the foreclosure process. JPMorgan has since resumed its normal volume.
The halt is most dramatic with Wells, the nation’s largest mortgage originator. The bank’s foreclosure sales in five Western states — California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington — dropped from as many as 349 a day in April to fewer than 10 a day across the entire region, according to Foreclosure Radar, a California real estate monitoring firm.
“Wells Fargo has temporarily postponed certain foreclosure sales while we study the revised guidance from the OCC,” a spokeswoman for the bank wrote in response to questions from American Banker. The bank expects the delay will be brief.
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OCC is ratcheting up their scrutiny….sure they are!!!! hummm and the OCC has a bridge in london to sell chap and a nice little cheap rental for ya. Right….NOT doing a damn thing…will be done
There is only one reason Wells, Citi or any other bank is halting foreclosures – to delay showing the losses on their books.
To say the OCC is ratcheting up their scrutiny of the banks is laughable. The OCC has never been about enforcement – they are all about covering for the banks. Yeah, I trust American Banker to give me the straight scoop. The media has been complicit in covering for the banks. I never thought one could get more factual coverage from the likes of Pravda or Al Jazeera but that is our sad state of affairs in the U.S.
If our media told the real story it would be that we are in a global depression. And that the real foreclosure rate (when deed in lieus, short sales and strategic defaults are factored in) is MUCH higher than the number of homes lost during the Great Depression.
For whatever reason, the American people in general seem to be content to have the media blow smoke up their ass and believe we are in a “recovery.” How much do we have to lose before we say “enough!” and put and end to the plundering of our country by the bankers – who are aided by our own government!
Question No. 1, for example, is “Is the loan’s default status accurate?”
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OK , obviously 99% of us are not in default because the notes are invalid , naming parties that have no standing … How do we use this to pile on and get more out of wells in a countersuit?