Big bank settlement coming very soon

Within the next couple of weeks, CCI members are expecting Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller to announce a settlement with the nation’s largest mortgage servicers regarding fraudulent foreclosures and bad mortgage servicing.

CCI members have been watching this investigation very closely since meeting with AG Miller last year where, in a room full of distressed homeowners from across the country, he promised to get tough and crack down on big banks.

After that meeting though, Miller went silent. Since our meeting last December (2010), rumors and leaks from his investigation have suggested that he was caving to big bank pressure. We learned of several questionable contributions from big bank lawyers, and we called Miller out.

We heard he was having talks with the big banks in Washington and Chicago, and CCI members traveled to demand he stand up for struggling Iowans back home.

CCI and a lot of our allies have been putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Miller, the other AGs, and raising expectations time and again. Our message resonated with the Attorneys General in New York, Delaware, California, Minnesota, and Kentucky who all either quit the settlement out of disgust or expressed extreme dissatisfaction with Miller’s handling of the big banks.

But, as we’ve said all along, the proof is going to be in the pudding. We still expect a strong settlement from Miller – one that includes across-the-board, meaningful, sustainable principal reduction that is going to start stabilizing the housing market, restitution for homeowners, and keeps the door open for criminal prosecution.

We’ll keep you posted on updates as we get them, so watch this space!