Tag Archives: OCC

Thomas J. Curry, who currently leads the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), will have additional responsibilities as chairman of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). The OCC announced Curry's appointment makes him the 21st FFIEC chairman. He will lead for a two-year term and his selection marks the fifth time the OCC has led the council.

As of the end of December, 89.4 percent of mortgages were still current and performing, an increase from 88.6 percent in the third quarter and an improvement from 88 percent during the same quarter a year ago, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported. Servicers also began a fewer number of foreclosures after initiating 156,773 new foreclosures in Q4, the the lowest number since Q1 2008, which is when the OCC began the report. In addition, servicers helped borrowers remain in their homes by implementing more home retention actions than home forfeiture actions.

About 4.2 million eligible borrowers should expect to receive a check ranging from hundreds of dollars to $125,000 in the next few months as part of the new agreement that replaced the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR), regulators announced during a call Wednesday. Suzanne Killian of the Federal Reserve and Ted Wartell of the OCC explained Rust Consulting, the paying agent, will send the 4.2 million borrowers a postcard notifying them of eligibility at the end of this month, and then additional correspondence and a check should follow in 4-8 weeks.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board announced the release of amendments to their enforcement actions against 13 mortgage servicers over mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices. The amendments memorialize foreclosure agreements made between the regulators and 13 servicers. According to the release, 4.2 million borrowers are covered by the amendment and should expect to receive compensation ranging from hundreds of dollars up to $125,000. Rust Consulting, Inc., the paying agent, will contact borrowers by the end of March of this year with payment details.

In a speech before the Women in Housing and Finance, Comptroller of the of the Currency Thomas J. Curry addressed critics of the recent $9.3 billion foreclosure deal. The foreclosure settlement officially ended what was known as the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) and replaced the review with a new approach that is said to compensate borrowers much more quickly. Although the new approach means borrowers will start seeing compensation in the next month or so, Curry admitted the approach is still ""not without critics."" In his speech, he addressed two main concerns.

Although the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFC) has concluded after regulators reached an $8.5 billion foreclosure settlement with 10 banks, questions still remain concerning the abandoned foreclosure review process and the terms for the current settlement. In the search for more answers, three lawmakers recently wrote letters to the Office of the Comptroller (OCC) and the Federal Reserve. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) sent a joint letter dated January 31 to the OCC and the Fed requesting specific information, including the results of all performance reviews.

Conditions in the housing sector may have finally improved enough to bring life back to the securitization market, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said in remarks at the American Securitization Forum. Curry noted that the credit market has shifted dramatically in its efforts to prevent the practices that paved the way for the financial meltdown but has gone too far--an expected reaction, he said. However, as the market stabilizes, it will become important for lenders to adjust appropriately and find a balance.

HSBC is the latest bank joined in on the foreclosure settlement with federal regulators over allegations that the bank's practices led to wrongful foreclosures. The Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced HSBC will pay $249 million, with $96 million for direct payments to eligible borrowers and $153 million for mortgage assistance.

Ten major mortgage servicers reached an agreement with federal regulators to pay more than $8.5 billion over alleged foreclosure abuses, the Federal Reserve announced in a release Monday. The agreement replaces the Independent Foreclosure Review process with a new framework allowing eligible borrowers to receive compensation more quickly. Of the $8.5 billion, $3.3 billion will go toward direct payments to eligible borrowers and $5.2 billion will be used to assist borrowers in other ways, such as through loan modifications.

In the third quarter of this year, the overall percentage of mortgages that managed to stay current improved from last year, but declined slightly quarter-over-quarter, according to a report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The report also found foreclosure activity ""remains elevated,"" but fewer properties entered the foreclosure process. In Q3, more home retention actions were also applied compared with home forfeiture actions (foreclosure sales, short sales, and deeds-in-lieu).