Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley announced that Barclays Bank will pay $36.1 million to settle allegations that it financed, purchased and securitized residential loans during the subprime mortgage meltdown.
Under the terms of the settlement, which was filed in Suffolk Superior Court, more than $25 million will be used for principal reduction and foreclosure relief payments for at least 450 Massachusetts subprime borrowers who had loans securitized by Barclays in 2006 and 2007.
Eligible borrowers had several “high risk” loan features that Massachusetts courts claimed to be “presumptively unfair” by violating the Consumer Protection Act, including an introductory “teaser” period of three years or less where interest rates would be 2% lower than the fully indexed rate, a fully indexed debt-to-income ratio greater than 50%, and substantial prepayment penalties that extended beyond the teaser period with a loan-to-value ratio over 97%.
Also, approximately $2 million of the compensation will be used to help cities and towns including Boston, Springfield, Brockton, Lowell, New Bedford and Worcester, where mortgage loans securitized by Barclays eventually became foreclosures.
Additionally, nonprofit organizations that are assisting with foreclosure relief efforts in Massachusetts will receive about $1 million from the settlement.
“The troubling practices of these Wall Street securitization firms greatly contributed to the economic crisis that harmed Massachusetts residents,” Coakley said in a press release. “This Barclays' settlement will help keep hundreds of people in their homes and recover more than $25 million in significant relief for borrowers who are still struggling with unsustainable subprime loans.”
Coakley said Barclays securitized loans from
This marks the fourth case Coakley has reached an agreement with Wall Street investment firms following investigations into their securitization practices. The other companies that came to terms with the AG were Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Overall, the AG’s multiyear, industrywide investigation office has recovered more than $250 million in connection with securitization claims, therefore assisting thousands of homeowners across the state.
