'Robo' Reality: Obama Puts the Squeeze on NY and CA

Early Wednesday afternoon it appeared that New York and California would not be part of the 'robo-signing' deal and then – from what we're told – the White House put the full court press on the two, laying out the political ramifications for these two very Democratic states. (The election is nine months away and the White House would like a 'win' on this one.) Also, if New York and California were not part of a settlement it would be meaningless because together these two states represent 35% of the MSR market. But keep in mind this one thought: New York and California are essentially broke and have little in the way of resources to fund a lengthy, multi-year court battle. But did the servicing industry get away scot-free? The devil is in the details – and as the days go by and attorneys read the fine print we soon will know who got the upper hand in this settlement: the states or the servicers.