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Banking Agencies Extend Deadline to Request Independent Foreclosure Review
On February 15, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that the deadline for borrowers to seek review of their mortgage foreclosures under the Independent Foreclosure Review program has been extended to July 31, 2012. Under the program, an eligible borrower can have his or her foreclosure reviewed by independent consultants to determine whether the borrower was financially injured due to errors, misrepresentations, or other deficiencies in the foreclosure process. An injured borrower may be eligible for compensation or other remedies.
Federal Reserve Releases Mortgage Servicing Monetary Sanction Orders
On February 13, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) released the consent orders requiring five major mortgage servicing companies to pay a combined $766.5 million in monetary sanctions. The consent orders were entered in connection with the $25 billion multi-party mortgage servicing settlement announced on February 9, and that total settlement amount includes the FRB sanctions.
Senate Banking Chairman Requests Audits of Community Bank and Credit Union Exam Processes
On February 10, Senator Tim Johnson, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to the inspectors general of the Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration seeking audits of each agency's exam process for community banks and credit unions. The letter cites community bank and credit union complaints of unclear standards and inconsistent application of policies and procedures. Sen. Johnson asked that the audit review (i) the overall exam process, (ii) examination timelines, and (iii) the ability of an institution to question or appeal exam results. The House Financial Services Committee has been considering legislation, H.R. 3461, that would mandate changes to the examination process. To date, no corresponding bill has been introduced in the Senate.
Federal and State Officials Announce Mortgage Servicing Settlement
On February 9, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, and several other state and federal officials jointly announced an approximately $25 billion agreement in principle between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general and the five largest mortgage servicers to settle various mortgage servicing and foreclosure related issues. Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt later announced an "independent mortgage settlement" between Oklahoma and the five servicers. The national-level agreement - with Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial (the servicers) - was the culmination of several state and federal investigations and extended negotiations between the parties. The settlement's terms require a commitment of approximately $20 billion in financial relief for homeowners. In addition, the servicers will pay $5 billion in cash to the state and federal governments, including $1.5 billion to establish a Borrower Payment Fund that will provide payments to qualifying borrowers whose homes were sold or foreclosed on between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011. The $25 billion agreement includes more than $766.5 million in monetary sanctions assessed by the Federal Reserve Board. An additional $394 million of penalties from the Office of Comptroller of the Currency are held in abeyance provided four of the servicers make payments and take other actions under the settlement with a value equal to at least the penalty amounts assessed for each servicer by the OCC. In addition to the financial compensation offered in the settlement, the servicers will conduct future business under new servicing standards, which include (i) restrictions on the default management process known as "dual tracking", (ii) a requirement for the institutions to provide a single point of contact for borrowers, (iii) specific protections for military service members beyond those provided by the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, (iv) obligations concerning disclosures and practices related to force-placed insurance, and (v) limitations on servicing fees. The standards also require the servicers to establish (i) updated foreclosure and bankruptcy documentation processes, (ii) enhanced servicer oversight of third party vendors, and (iii) adherence to a new set of loan modification timelines. The terms of the agreement will be filed as a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Their fulfillment, over the three-year term of the settlement, will be overseen by an independent monitor, North Carolina Commissioner of Banks Joseph A. Smith. In order to ensure timely dissemination of the settlement's terms to those who may be eligible for financial relief, the parties have established a "National Mortgage Settlement" web site, which provides "Servicing Standards Highlights" and outlines key aspects of the servicing settlement. The materials provided by the federal and state officials in announcing the settlement agreement note that the agreement left numerous issues unresolved and does not preclude (i) criminal claims, (ii) securities claims and claims related to the use of an electronic mortgage registry, (iii) loan origination claims in connection with FHA-insured loans, except those covered specifically by this settlement, and (iv) borrower claims. For additional information concerning some of the state-level recoveries and issues the state attorneys general have reserved for potential future action please see California's announcement here and New York's announcement here. Buckley LLP advises clients regarding mortgage servicing issues and conducted a webinar on servicing developments, including a review of the OCC's April, 2011 Consent Orders and related servicing guidance. If you have any questions about the settlement or servicing issues in general please contact a member of our Mortgage Servicing Team.
Agencies Release Guidance on ALLL Estimation Practices for Junior Liens
On January 31, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the agencies), released joint guidance related to allowance for loan and lease losses (ALLL) estimation practices associated with loans and lines of credit secured by junior leans on one- to four-family residential properties. The guidance reiterates, specifically with regard to junior liens, key concepts included in generally accepted accounting principles and existing ALLL supervisory guidance related to the ALLL estimation practices. The agencies provided the guidance to remind regulated financial institutions to monitor all credit quality indicators relevant to credit portfolios and to follow appropriate risk-management principles in managing junior liens.
FRB Governor Reviews Mortgage Servicing Enforcement Actions
On January 7, Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin, in a speech to the Association of American Law Schools, reviewed the status of federal banking regulators’ enforcement responses to what she characterized as the "foreclosure crisis". Governor Raskin described the enforcement actions brought last year by the FRB and other banking regulators against mortgage servicers as “only a start in a comprehensive enforcement response to the foreclosure crisis” and provided a reminder that anticipated monetary penalties for alleged deficient servicing and foreclosure practices are still to come. Further, Governor Raskin identified strong enforcement as a necessary incentive to developing an improved mortgage servicing model.