Tag Archives: Citigroup

Citigroup announced this week it has agreed to pay approximately $1.13 billion to settle repurchase claims on residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). According to the bank’s announcement, Citi has agreed to make a binding offer to the trustees of 68 Citi-sponsored mortgage trusts that issued a combined $59.4 billion in RMBS from 2005–2008.

The appointed monitor for the National Mortgage Settlement revealed Tuesday that all banks involved in the settlement have satisfied their consumer relief and refinancing obligations—and nearly a year ahead of schedule. In a release, Joseph A. Smith Jr. commented, "Because of the way this landmark agreement was designed, an unprecedented amount of relief has been provided to consumers quickly and efficiently."

For the entire year, industry numbers point to a total of $1.8 trillion in originations, well above what many analysts projected at the opening of the year. Given the current trend of declining mortgage rates and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's expected push to open credit availability at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FBR Capital Markets says we might see originations in 2014 push to $1.3 trillion or higher, depending on how the next few months play out.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recovered nearly $8 billion last year in its pursuit of funds related to allegedly fraudulent loan sales to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Joseph A. Smith, the monitor overseeing servicers' compliance with last year's National Mortgage Settlement, filed reports on how the institutions involved with the settlement are dealing with the agreement. "My testing confirmed six fails in the first quarter of 2013 and one in the second quarter of 2013," Smith said in a statement issued Wednesday, adding that the "banks are all taking action to address the failures through detailed corrective action plans."

Customer satisfaction with mortgage loan originators reached a seven-year high this year with Quicken Loans earning the highest ranking for the fourth year in a row, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Five originators earned scores above the industry average. Topping the list was Quicken Loans with a score of 841 out of 1000. The remaining four lenders to outrank the industry average are BB&T (798), U.S. Bank (783), PNC Mortgage (778), and Chase (773).

Ally Financial Inc. announced Tuesday the bank has reached settlements with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and FDIC for all pending litigation related to toxic mortgages.

Joseph A. Smith, the monitor overseeing fulfillment efforts put forward by each servicer involved in the National Mortgage Settlement, has issued a report on their progress satisfying consumer relief obligations outlined in the agreement. Smith's report covers servicer activities through December 31, 2012, which have been vetted and verified by the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. Each servicer's internal review group provided Smith with information on the servicers' crediting progress in February of this year.

Wells Fargo and SunTrust Mortgage are the two most recent companies to settle over claims regarding representations and warranties on single-family loans sold to the GSE.

According to a release from Citi, the bank will pay Freddie Mac $395 million, all of which is covered by its existing mortgage repurchase reserves as of the end of Q2. The agreement covers claims for breaches of representations and warranties on 3.7 million loans sold between 2000 and 2012. Jane Fraser, CEO of CitiMortgage, said the agreement "marks another important milestone in successfully resolving Citi's remaining legacy mortgage issues."