Mass. To Get $318 Million In National Mortgage Settlement
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Attorney General Martha Coakley says Massachusetts borrowers will receive about $318 million from a $25 billion national settlement with lenders over foreclosure abuses.
Massachusetts was one of the last states to sign on to the settlement.
Under the agreement, five major banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial — will reduce loans for nearly 1 million households.
They will also send checks of $2,000 to about 750,000 Americans who were improperly foreclosed upon. The banks will have three years to fulfill the terms of the deal.
All but one of the 50 states agreed to the deal. Oklahoma, the lone holdout, will receive no money.
Coakley filed suit in December against five major U.S. banks after expressing frustration with the pace of negotiations toward a national deal.
She says the settlement announced Thursday will allow the state to continue pursuing legal claims against the banks on issues specific to Massachusetts law, including claims that lenders initiated foreclosures without holding the actual mortgages.
Of the $318 million targeted for the state, Coakley says $224 million will go toward loan modifications and other direct relief to borrowers.
For more information about specific loan modification programs and whether they qualify under terms of the state-federal settlement, contact the appropriate lenders:
- Bank of America: 1-877-488-7814
- Citi: 1-866-272-4749
- Chase: 1-866-372-6901
- GMAC: 1-800-766-4622
- Wells Fargo: 1-800-288-3212
Additional information can be found on the state-federal settlement at the websites below:
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