Tag Archives: PNC Financial

The New York state court system has instituted a new filing requirement that officials say will prevent wrongful foreclosures and protect the integrity of the process. Lenders' counsel are now required to file an affirmation certifying that they have reviewed and verified the accuracy of foreclosure documents. The new mandate is in response to recent disclosures by major mortgage lenders of potential deficiencies in notarization and so-called ""robosigning"" of supporting paperwork.

Evidence of major servicers mishandling foreclosure paperwork has cast a cloud of doubt over the entire industry and servicing procedures across the board. Consumer advocacy groups and a number of state attorneys general have demanded a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures. But two senior White House officials have indicated that the Obama administration will not support an all-out foreclosure freeze. So far, five companies have announced voluntary foreclosure suspensions because of potential deficiencies in the legal paperwork.

Litton Loan Servicing LP, the Houston-based mortgage servicing unit of Goldman Sachs has joined the ranks of mortgage firms issuing a voluntarily foreclosure moratorium. The company has declined to release details of which states the suspension encompasses or how many loans it might affect.

PNC Financial Services Group is the fourth large lender to suspend foreclosures within the past three weeks because of potential deficiencies in the legal paperwork. The bank has reportedly notified its industry partners that it is holding up sales of foreclosed homes in judicial states for 30 days while the company reviews its internal servicing procedures.

Bank of America is expanding its foreclosure freeze from the 23 judicial states to include all 50 states. Consumer advocacy groups, state attorneys general, and federal lawmakers are all calling for GMAC Mortgage and JPMorgan Chase to also extend their foreclosure moratoriums nationwide. PNC Financial has reportedly become the fourth major lender to institute a foreclosure suspension in the judicial states. An announcement is expected to come as early as Tuesday of a joint investigation by attorney general offices in as many as 40 states.

One of the nation's foremost banking regulators has issued a directive to large mortgage servicers, ordering them to reassess their procedures for foreclosing on defaulted borrowers. John Walsh, head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) told lawmakers that he contacted seven institutions his agency supervises, after several large lenders announced a halt on foreclosures in states where filings might contain erroneous paperwork and preparers may have broken the law in their haste to process large volumes of cases.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its mid-year ranking of commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers. Wells Fargo tops the list, with 40,292 loans worth $462.8 billion in its commercial/multifamily servicing portfolio. Also among the top five are PNC's Midland Loan Services, Berkadia, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and KeyBank Real Estate Capital.

Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC announced the appointment of Hugh R. Frater as CEO this week. He replaces Michael I. Lipson, who left the organization. Frater was a founding partner and managing director of BlackRock, Inc., the largest publicly traded investment manager. He also served as EVP for the real estate division of PNC Financial Services.