Remember the 49 State AG Settlement? It was supposed to provide protections to the men and women who serve in uniform and protect our nation.
The agreement provides that when the banks engage in improper practice and say, take a home from a soldier when they’re serving abroad getting shot at, the banks are supposed to pay a penalty to the soldiers….They even put a minimum dollar figure on it….$116,750. Don’t ask how they came up with that number.
But what we should all be asking is whether any of the banks have paid one single nickle to soldiers who were violated by the bank’s conduct.
Now, the provisions below are for Bank of America. The text begins at page 257 of the attached Consent Judgment….but similar provisions exist in all the agreements.
IT THE BANKS ARE PERMITTED TO ABUSE OUR SOLDIERS, WHAT PROTECTION TO ANY OF US HAVE?
Bank of America N.A., Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Countrywide Financial
Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, L.P., and
BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P.
In exchange for a full release of the United States’1 potential civil claims2 under the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (” SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. app. § 501, et seq., arising prior to the
date of this agreement against Servicer3 with respect to the servicing of residential mortgages,
under (a) Section 521 of the SCRA, as it pertains to mortgage foreclosure, and (b) Section 527 of
the SCRA, prohibiting charging more than 6% interest on SCRA-covered mortgaged debt after a
valid request by a servicemember to lower the interest rate and receipt of orders, Servicer agrees
to the provisions set forth below.
I. Servicer shall comply with all the ” Protections for Military Personnel” provisions in the
Settlement Agreement (” Article V”). In addition, Servicer shall undertake additional
remedial action and agree to the policy changes set forth below.
II. Compensation for Servicemembers and Co-Borrowers
a. Violations of Section 521 of the SCRA related to completed foreclosures on
active duty servicemembers: Servicer will engage an independent consultant
whose duties shall include a review of all completed foreclosures from January 1, 2006 to the present to evaluate whether the completed foreclosures were in
compliance with Section 521 of the SCRA. Servicer shall propose an
independent consultant and submit the independent consultant’s proposed
methodology to DOJ for approval within 30 days after the entry of this agreement.
The independent consultant shall begin its review within 30 days after receiving
the above-referenced approvals by DOJ. The independent consultant shall submit
the results of its review to DOJ within 150 days after it receives the data
necessary for its analysis from the Department of Defense’s Defense Manpower
Data Center (” DMDC”), providing relevant periods of military service of
borrowers for completed foreclosures from January 1, 2006 to present. Based on
the information gathered by the independent consultant, information submitted by
Servicer, and DOJ’s independent investigation, DOJ shall make the determination
reasonably based on the information it has received and its investigative
conclusions whether or not a completed foreclosure was in compliance with the
SCRA. In the event Servicer disagrees with the DOJ’s determination, Servicer
shall be afforded 30 days to produce evidence of compliance, which DOJ shall
consider in good faith. Where DOJ determines that a foreclosure was not in
compliance with the SCRA, Servicer shall compensate the borrowers (i.e., any
individual(s) who signed the note with respect to a foreclosed property) by
providing:
(1) an amount of $116,785.00 to the servicemember-borrower or an amount
consistent with what was provided under the OCC Consent Order Independent Review Process for similar violations of Section 521 of the SCRA, whichever is
higher;
Consent_Judgment_BoA-4-11-12