This is hot off the wires ... regarding the DOJ-Banks-AG agreement ...
AG Settlement: Not Perfect, But Significant Reform of Mortgage Servicing
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire
[...]
No more robo-signing. Banks would agree that key foreclosure documents will be individually reviewed as required by law.
End of many servicing abuses. The banks would agree to adopt many practices that will result in better communication, fewer delays, and fairer treatment for homeowners who are late on house payments.
More sustainable loan modifications. The settlement would require banks to get serious about reducing the principal balances on mortgages for struggling homeowners, possibly preventing hundreds of thousands of unnecessary foreclosures.
Banks remain accountable. While the state AGs would not be able to bring additional origination or servicing claims against the participating banks, the settlement would preserve the ability of homeowners to pursue claims against banks. Moreover, the settlement would not shield banks from prosecution related to criminal activities, claims based on mortgage securities violations, fair lending suits, or claims against MERS. Finally, the settlement would be enforceable in court by an independent monitor.
[...]
That is the DOJ settlement, about to be signed off on.
It has a few more teeth, than I thought it would.
Here is the forward-looking Watchdog investigative unit for cleaning up after the Mortgage Mess ... to be headed "co-chaired" by one of the most dogged State AGs out there, trying to prosecute the real Mortgage law-breakers:
EXCLUSIVE: Obama To Announce Mortgage Crisis Unit Chaired By New York Attorney General Schneiderman
Sam Stein, huffingtonpost.com -- 01/24/2012
WASHINGTON -- During his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama will announce the creation of a special unit to investigate misconduct and illegalities that contributed to both the financial collapse and the mortgage crisis.
The office, part of a new Unit on Mortgage Origination and Securitization Abuses, will be chaired by Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, according to a White House official.
[...]
"The goal of this joint investigation will be threefold:
-- to hold accountable any institutions that violated the law;
-- to compensate victims and help provide relief for homeowners struggling from the collapse of the housing market, caused in part by this wrongdoing;
-- and to help us finally turn the page on this destructive period in our nation’s history,"
reads a White House document outlining the objectives.
[...]
A big question remaining is what kind of immunity, will the offending Banks get for signing on the dotted line? I can't imagine them signed it, without a Get-out-of-Jail Card somewhere in the "fine print".
Hmmmm, I wonder if the AG's can "robo-sign" the agreement, leaving them an escape clause from having to "grant that immunity" ?
Fair would be only fair.