Menendez Applauds Actions Against Big Banks that Failed to Help Homeowners

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Following release of the May Housing Scorecard by the Obama administration, which included detailed assessments of the 10 largest mortgage providers that are participating in the administration’s Making Home Affordable Program, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., issued a statement regarding the findings in the Housing Scorecard and the Treasury Department’s decision to withhold financial incentives from Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The Housing Scorecard found that some servicers have not produced satisfactory reviews from customers in the areas of: identifying and contacting homeowners; homeowner evaluation and assistance; and program reporting, management and governance. In regards to the Treasury’s action, Menendez stated, “I applaud the Treasury Department for withholding payments to them for poor performance when it comes to foreclosures and mortgage modifications. For several years, I have been calling for mortgage servicers to be held more accountable, including at a Housing Subcommittee hearing I chaired just this year in May. The last thing homeowners should have to worry about is obstacles from the banks that are supposed to be helping them keep their homes.”