Last week, the federal government and 49 state attorneys general announced the nation’s five largest mortgage providers – Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo – will pay a sizeable settlement for irresponsible and fraudulent practices that wrongly forced countless families from their homes (despite the fact these mortgage servicers lacked the proper documentation to validate those decisions). Pennsylvania and affected consumers in our state are expected to receive a reported $266 million from the settlement.
As regulators have noted, this is a complex settlement that will take months to implement. I encourage Pennsylvanians who may be eligible for assistance to follow future developments and learn more at www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com. Some of the recent news coverage did not mention this valuable website, so please share it with those who might have an interest.
Broadly, we note that recent real estate valuations and foreclosure rates suggest Pennsylvania fared better than most states after the housing market collapsed. Yet foreclosures continue to damage many of our communities. According to RealtyTrac, more than 25,000 homes are now in foreclosure across Pennsylvania. These foreclosures enact a human toll on evicted families and an economic toll on the neighborhoods in which they are located. I hope this settlement provides some small measure of help.
Rob McCord
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Other News:
A Message from Treasurer Rob McCord:
