Discoveries of misconduct among the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, prior to and during the foreclosure crisis, are continuing to add up, with the revelation that the nation’s biggest banks wrongfully foreclosed on more than 700 members of the U.S. military, the New York Times reported. [more]

Despite the nascent recovery in the U.S. housing market, thousands of homes still sit vacant in highly distressed markets. But according to CNBC, despite their appearance, not all of these homes are foreclosures. Many are still owned by borrowers — whether they know it or not. Early last year, the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers signed a settlement over “robo-signing” foreclosure abuses. The deal resulted in thousands of properties being released from their liens, with many more to come…. [more]

The federal government’s $8.5 billion settlement with 10 large banks over foreclosure abuses following the collapse of the housing market in 2008 has been portrayed by many as swift justice for aggrieved homeowners. But some regulators and consultants see the deal as a distraction from a much-needed comprehensive review of banks’ foreclosure practices, the New York Times reported. Regulators, led by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, abandoned their efforts to review some four million loans, after examining only a fraction of the foreclosures, according to former and current regulators and consultants angered over the agencies failure…. [more]

The nation’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, has agreed to pay borrowers some $2 billion in mortgage relief and direct cash payments in order to settle foreclosure abuse claims with regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported. The settlement calls for some $753 million in cash payments and $1.2 billion for “foreclosure prevention actions.” The bank has said that it will book a $700 million pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter of 2012 to account for the cost of the settlement, which it will report on January 16. JPMorgan was one of 10 banks slapped with fines Monday, following a regulatory probe into abusive foreclosure practices in the aftermath of the financial and housing crisis…. [more]

Banks were faced with an unprecedented number of lawsuits in 2012, and 2013 may prove to be another litigation-heavy year for banks. According to the New York Times, Bank of America agreed today to pay more than $10 billion to Fannie Mae to settle a dispute over mortgages that tanked during the housing crash. [more]

New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman

The $26 billion mortgage settlement, reached in February between numerous state attorneys general and the country’s five largest mortgage servicers, has already sent about $625 million to residents of New York state, a report from New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office shows.

Thus far under the settlement, 7,223 homeowners have received assistance, the statement says, with each borrower receiving an average of $86,600, which includes principal write-downs and “other relief” — referring to legal assistance and counseling on foreclosure prevention.  [more]

The first progress report on the impact of the $25 billion mortgage settlement struck by the nation’s five biggest lenders was released today, by Joseph Smith, who is charged with overseeing the settlement. He reported that banks had provided some $10.56 billion worth of forgiveness to 137,846 borrowers between the time the settlement went into effect March 1 and the end of June (see video after the jump)…. [more]

Shaun Donovan, HUD secretary

The U.S. government’s settlement against five big banks was supposed to benefit distressed homeowners, but many states cannot resist diverting the funds to make-up for budget shortfalls, the New York Times reported. When the government reached the estimated $25 billion settlement with banks over mortgage and foreclosure abuses, $2.5 billion was earmarked for states to prevent foreclosures, investigate fraud and alleviate general housing market woes. Now, 15 states have announced that they will be budgeting the money for items other than housing — although 27 states have agreed to use their entire distribution as intended. [more]

New York AG Eric Schneiderman

The mortgage settlement will provide $15 million for foreclosure prevention and other related services, according to a statement from the New York attorney general’s office today.

The allocation will provide up to $9 million for the state’s foreclosure prevention services program, which was set to expire April 1, and up to $6 million for community-based housing organizations, the statement said. [more]

Intended to simultaneously punish banks for their foreclosure practice and help American homeowners in distress, the $25 billion federal foreclosure settlement contains significant elements that reward banks for standard practices and do nothing to alleviate troubled homeowners, according to the New York Times.

The settlement stipulates that banks give at least $17 billion to help borrowers who have “the intent and ability” to stay in their homes. [more]