Citigroup was credited with more than half a billion dollars in consumer relief toward fulfilling its obligation of 2 point 5 billion dollars under the terms of a July 2014 settlement July 2014 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and five states for selling toxic residential mortgage-backed securities to investors before the financial crisis, according a report from an independent monitor. The monitor credited Citi with 512 million dollars in consumer relief for the period covering April 1, 2015, through June 30, 2015.
The amount provided during the second quarter of 2015 raised the cumulative total of consumer relief credited to Citi to 689 point 1 million dollars, still less than a third of the settlement’s requirement of 2 point 5 billion dollars. The bank has until 2018 to pay the remaining 1 point 8 billion. Most of the relief credited for the second quarter of 2015, about 430 million dollars, was in the category of principal forgiveness where foreclosure is not pursued.
According to Realtor.com’s First Look at the preliminary January data for housing, the pent-up demand that was behind housing’s growth in 2015 will continue on into 2016 to make this spring the best season for housing in a decade despite recent economic headwinds. January saw an 8 percent year-over-year increase in median list price and a 4 percent increase in the rate at which homes are selling at 100 days on the market.