Recent groups of protestors that have sprouted up across the city of Boston haven’t been voicing their displeasure with their baseball team’s September collapse, they’re protesting against Bank of America.
Today, over 1,000 people are expected to march in downtown Boston to protest against the bank, and “rally against Wall Street greed, predatory lending, and skyrocketing foreclosures in urban communities,” according to a press release.
Every business has risks, including companies that handle mortgage payments and send out foreclosure notices. These companies–called servicers–have now become a lot more risky, according to Fitch Ratings.
Fitch Ratings has now “downgraded the operational risk ratings of several U.S. residential mortgage servicers. Reasons for the rating downgrades include the growing burden of managing delinquent and defaulted mortgages in an environment of heightened regulatory scrutiny.”
I try to be as journalistic as possible on this blog. One of the ways I strive to do so is by presenting both sides of the story. We’ve read comments and published posts that call out the many frustrations borrowers have experience with Bank of America when trying to either modify or refinance their loans. Up to this point, not one comment on this blog or one news article that I’ve read sang the praises of the country’s largest lender. Like I said…until now.
One of our readers, “Steve,” recently shared a comment with us that said his BofA refi was “the best New Year’s present [he] ever had in [his] life.” Here’s Steve’s story: Read the rest of this entry »
We hear from a lot of disappointed Bank of America customers. Yet I guess when you make 15 trial modification payments on time (when technically you only have to make three) and then out of nowhere BofA tells you that you no longer qualify for a modification and your home is moving to either foreclosure or a short sale, “disappointed” doesn’t really capture the true essence of your emotions.
In the latest tales of missing paperwork, communication breakdowns and out-right oddities, we have another example of how the entire Making Home Affordable system is so totally broken.
Bank of America recently opened up a “customer outreach center” in the Boston area to better serve struggling mortgage borrowers. While we know this news will only serve to help a finite group of borrowers, we think that the strategy BofA is incorporating to help these borrowers will be a successful one. Professionals from BofA’s home loan department will be meeting with borrowers one-on-one:
Homeownership retention specialists at the outreach center will meet with homeowners by appointment only in order to maximize the value of each session and assure that each borrower arrives prepared with required documentation, is met promptly and receives the full attention of a Bank of America associate.
In what is being called “one of the largest settlements in FTC history,” Bank of America (BofA) is being ordered to pay $108 million to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) because Countrywide overcharged borrowers facing foreclosure and bankruptcy.
Since BofA acquired Countrywide about two years ago, the FTC says they are responsible for mistakes, past and present. The FTC says the money paid to them will be used to reimburse overcharged borrowers whose loans were serviced by Countrywide before BofA took them over. According to National Mortgage News, over 200,000 borrowers are expected to benefit from the settlement.
There has been some controversy and speculation that banks are holding onto foreclosed properties — rather than releasing them back into the marketplace, and are foreclosing on borrowers who have, or could have, qualified for a loan modification.
We’re still receiving comments on the story that we wrote on this exact subject back in early September. Our article titled “Making Home Affordable’s Impact on Foreclosure Sales” is concerning an interview CNBC had with a Bank of America (BofA) representative over whether or not they were purposely holding onto their foreclosed properties. Many of the comments following the story suggest that BofA came up short in their efforts to help their borrowers stay in their homes.
Today was former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s turn to testify in front of a Congressional committee regarding the Bank of America (BofA), Merrill Lynch merger. Previous testimony from BofA chief Ken Lewis claimed that his bank was strong armed by Federal regulators into accepting the merger that he had resisted. Today, Paulson had this to say:
“I further explained to [Lewis] that, under such circumstances, the Federal Reserve could exercise its authority to remove management and the board of Bank of America.”
Last Tuesday we wrote that Federal Investigators announced that 20 criminal probes have been launched to investigate possible securities fraud, tax issues, public corruption, insider trading, mortgage-mod fraud, and other crimes associated with the TARP. By the weeks end, accusations into TARP’s “criminal” element grew even stronger — possibly even encompassing those pointing the finger.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo informed Congress last week that Bank of America’s (BofA) coerced acquisition of Merrill Lynch on the part of former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke amounts to securities fraud. Cuomo suggests that the Federal officials mandated that BofA’s top executive Ken Lewis not disclose Merrill’s massive fourth quarter losses to investors prior to the merger which proved to be a financial disaster.
Park Avenue Bank of New York City is the latest institution to withdraw its TARP application, opting to raise private capital instead. Chief Executive Charles Antonucci pledged $6.5 million of his own resources last year, and plans to invest $15 million this year along with the board and other investors who plan on pledging private capital as well.
Park Avenue Bank has only five branches. With only a handful of locations, it’s easier for smaller banks to raise their own capital and operate outside of government influence. Realizing the regulatory baggage that accompanies government funding, a trend is growing amongst smaller banks that are standing stronger on their own: Read the rest of this entry »
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