chloe
09-30-2011, 11:41 PM
California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Friday that she will not agree to a settlement over foreclosure abuses that federal officials and other state attorneys general are negotiating with major U.S. banks.
Her announcement is the latest to undermine a resolution that had been in the works between the banks and attorneys general in all 50 states. Other states including New York also have expressed reservations about the deal, which would help keep people in their homes and compensate borrowers who faced improper foreclosures.
The agreement was supposed to settle claims of poor mortgage and foreclosure practices, including document fraud known as "robo-signing" _ approving documents in foreclosures without actually reading them.
However, Harris said the pending deal is "inadequate for California homeowners" and gives bank officials too much legal immunity.
The state is being asked as part of the settlement "to excuse conduct that has not been properly investigated," she wrote, promising to continue her own investigation.
Without agreement from the nation's most populous state _ and one of the hardest hit by foreclosures _ the settlement could end up doing little to resolve the issue. Foreclosure fraud class-action lawsuits are also piling up against major banks across the country.
Harris noted that more than 2.2 million California residents are underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Since the negotiations began 11 months ago, foreclosures have begun against more than 560,000 additional California homes.
"No state has been harder hit than my home state of California," Harris wrote in a letter to Associate U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perrelli and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who have been leading the talks.
Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among the banks that have been involved in the talks.
"We will continue to work with all parties, including our customers to restore home ownership nationally and locally," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Vickee Adams said, adding that the bank has helped more than 700,000 people nationwide with new low cost loans or modifications.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=157&sid=17473156
Sounds like the settlement was a low ball offer.
Her announcement is the latest to undermine a resolution that had been in the works between the banks and attorneys general in all 50 states. Other states including New York also have expressed reservations about the deal, which would help keep people in their homes and compensate borrowers who faced improper foreclosures.
The agreement was supposed to settle claims of poor mortgage and foreclosure practices, including document fraud known as "robo-signing" _ approving documents in foreclosures without actually reading them.
However, Harris said the pending deal is "inadequate for California homeowners" and gives bank officials too much legal immunity.
The state is being asked as part of the settlement "to excuse conduct that has not been properly investigated," she wrote, promising to continue her own investigation.
Without agreement from the nation's most populous state _ and one of the hardest hit by foreclosures _ the settlement could end up doing little to resolve the issue. Foreclosure fraud class-action lawsuits are also piling up against major banks across the country.
Harris noted that more than 2.2 million California residents are underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Since the negotiations began 11 months ago, foreclosures have begun against more than 560,000 additional California homes.
"No state has been harder hit than my home state of California," Harris wrote in a letter to Associate U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perrelli and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who have been leading the talks.
Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among the banks that have been involved in the talks.
"We will continue to work with all parties, including our customers to restore home ownership nationally and locally," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Vickee Adams said, adding that the bank has helped more than 700,000 people nationwide with new low cost loans or modifications.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=157&sid=17473156
Sounds like the settlement was a low ball offer.