Government-directed settlements with major lenders have provided billions of dollars in relief to struggling homeowners caught up in the “robo-signing” debacle of the financial crisis. But those big mortgage servicers appear to be benefiting as well, getting credit in those settlements for forgiving debt that they likely would never have collected anyway.
The banks, meanwhile, say they are providing meaningful relief to customers through debt forgiveness, modified loans and short sales. But some critics believe lenders are not paying a stiff-enough price for botching millions of foreclosures across the country.
“The compensation being paid is minimal compared to the damage that has been done, and the amounts that people have lost through the fraud committed by the banks in these foreclosure filings,” said Jack McCabe, a real estate analyst in Deerfield Beach.