All of the 12 national banks under regulatory orders to correct their servicing and foreclosure procedures are making progress in that regard, according to an interim report released Tuesday by the Comptroller of the Currency.
The report notes that the banks are providing struggling homeowners with a "single point of contact" to guide them through the loan modification process. In addition, the 12 servicers implemented controls to prevent “dual tracking” where a loan approved for modification simultaneously starts the legal process of a foreclosure.
Overall, OCC says the banks' efforts to reform their servicing and foreclosure procedures are "well under way" -- as required under the consent orders they signed in April.
So far, regulators have identified roughly 4 million homeowners that may have been harmed by foreclosure actions during the 2009 and 2010 time frame. The first regulatory mailing to these borrowers began Nov. 1. The mortgagors have until April 30 to request a review of their case.
The OCC is working with the servicers and their approved independent consultants to set up an integrated claims process.
Meanwhile, the consultants – which had to be approved by regulators -- continue to sample 2009-2010 servicing records to find additional borrowers that may have been harmed.
OCC says initial sampling and reviews may lead to "second level reviews" that will be monitored by the regulator. The OCC said it expects the consultants “to assess the results of the on-going reviews continuously to identify pockets of financial harm and adapted the review plan accordingly."
The agency also released the names of the consultants the national banks have retained: AllonHill, LLC, for Aurora Bank; Clayton Services, LLC, for EverBank; Deloitte & Touche, LLP, for JPMorgan Chase; Ernst & Young, LLP, for HSBC and MetLife Bank; Navigant Consulting, Inc., for OneWest; PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, for Citibank and US Bank; Promontory Financial Group, LLC, for Bank of America, PNC, and Wells Fargo Bank and Treliant Risk Advisors, LLC for Sovereign Bank.
