SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2011
NEW YORK -- Probes by state attorneys general and other government agencies into banks' foreclosure practices carry the risk of fines and other major costs, according to regulatory filings from three of the country's biggest banks.
Revelations that major U.S. banks rammed through hundreds of foreclosures daily without giving many borrowers a fair shot at keeping their homes triggered investigations from all 50 states' attorneys general and from state and federal regulators. They also sparked pressure from lawmakers and class-action lawsuits.
Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. called out possible financial repercussions in annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday. None of them provided any details on how much was at risk.
"Those investigations and any irregularities that might be found in our foreclosure processes, along with any remedial steps taken in response to governmental investigations or to our own internal assessment, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations," Bank of America said.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank said it is dedicating significant resources to comply with investigations, and warned that the probes could result in "material fines, penalties" and expose the company to new lawsuits and more legal costs.
"Our costs increased in the fourth quarter of 2010 and we expect that additional costs incurred in connection with our foreclosure process assessment will continue into 2011 due to the additional resources necessary to perform the foreclosure process assessment, to revise affidavit filings and to implement other operational changes," Bank of America said in the filing.
New York-based Citigroup said investigations and scrutiny of its own foreclosure processes have
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/26/3433145/big-banks-foreclosure-probes-carry.html#ixzz1F6wfMLQ5
Posted 5:34 PM
No Comments
Post a Comment |
|
Required
|
|
Required (Not Displayed)
|
|
Required
|
All comments are moderated and stripped of HTML.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTICE: This blog and website are made available by the publisher for educational and informational purposes only.
It is not be used as a substitute for competent insurance, legal, or tax advice from a licensed professional
in your state. By using this blog site you understand that there is no broker client relationship between
you and the blog and website publisher.
|