Tag Archives: Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight

Retesting of Ocwen Financial's compliance with the terms of the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) for the first quarter of 2014 revealed that the Atlanta-based servicer failed one metric originally reported as a pass, but passed the other eight metrics, according to a release from the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight.

In her first monthly report as California Monitor, Katherine Porter described the servicers' efforts to reform their practices before the October 2 deadline.

The settlement struck between the nation's five largest mortgage servicers and the U.S. Department of Justice and 49 state attorneys general calls for reforming mortgage servicing practices with the implementation of more than 300 standards. As described by the attorneys general's own negotiating committee, the banks must "accomplish a massive undertaking" to put all the servicing standards into practice as ordered under the agreement. They were given 180 days.

Five months after the nation's top five servicers settled with the states attorneys general and several federal agencies to address iniquities in foreclosure processes, Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the settlement monitor, released a preliminary report to inform the public of the servicers' progress so far. Thus far, the five servicers ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô offered $10.56 billion in relief to borrowers and have implemented between 35 and 72 percent of the 304 servicing standards detailed in the national settlement.

Five new faces joined the board of directors at the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight on Monday. The five include former banking commissioners, politicians, attorneys, and academics, with Mississippi banking commissioner John Allison and former North Carolina Gov. James Holshouser notably joining the board. Although board members, the five will serve only in functional roles for the mortgage settlement office. None will bring any decision-making power to bear on the national settlement.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau strikes once more ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô against the little guy, according to recent reports. One of those came from analysts with Moody's Investors Service on Thursday. Their report suggests that a tide of new rules from the credit bureau will likely impose "costly" and "challenging" new costs on small to midsize servicers. As for the bigger guys? Analysts say they may just walk away from the rules without a scratch. And theirs isn't the first report to say as much. Read more to learn why.

The Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight continues to evolve as the monitor, a widely respected banking and housing finance chief, takes on new help from accounting and legal firms. Joseph A. Smith, Jr., onetime Federal Housing Finance Agency director-nominee, now responsible for overseeing servicer compliance under the $25 billion settlement, revealed Monday that BDO USA, LLP, would serve as the Raleigh, North Carolina-based office's eyes and ears. He spoke with MReport about the firm Wednesday.

The monitor responsible for reviewing $25 billion in settlement funds announced Monday that his office has selected BDO USA, LLP, to serve as the primary professional firm needed to oversee the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós servicers. The firm will play a critical role in the oversight process as Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the former North Carolina banking commissioner selected by 49 state attorneys general to head up the settlement, begins the footwork necessary to fulfill terms and conditions under the landmark deal.

Consumer advocates now have the ability to report violations if their clients suspect any as the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós five largest servicers complete requirements under the $25 billion settlement. Speaking at a conference hosted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the settlement monitor, announced the standup of a website portal for complaints about servicers. A statement said that the monitor will use any information gathered from the online tool to oversee implementation of the agreement with servicers.

Parties to the landmark mortgage servicing settlement in February appointed one man to oversee $25 billion in compliance. In an interview with DS News, our sister publication, Joseph A. Smith, onetime banking commissioner for North Carolina and ex-nominee for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, lays out the role he envisions playing as he monitors funds for homeowners, states, and the federal government. The settlement monitor speaks with an understated tone about his stewardship of the historic settlement, which 49 state attorneys general and federal officials completed in February.