by the El Reporero’s staff and news agencies
What was considered a big gamble, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, won in the settlement negotiations with banks over illegal foreclosures.
It’s a gamble that appears to have paid off spectacularly.
Harris, whose state has been one of the hardest hit by the U.S. foreclosure crisis, pulled out of talks with the banks last September, saying what they were offering was grossly insufficient.
At the time, her office said on Thursday, California was being offered between $2 billion and $4 billion.
Yet on Thursday, Harris held a press conference in Los Angeles to herald a deal that looks exceptionally favorable to California. Out of the $40 billion in total benefits that are expected to flow from the $25 billion settlement that the banks agreed to pay, California is set to emerge with some $18 billion.
For the Greenllining Istitute, the bank settlement will help Californians, but Follow-through will be key to ensuring help reaches struggling families, The “robo-signing” settlement announced today represents real help for California homeowners who suffered due to misdeeds by loan servicers and other financial institutions, but more must still be done to help struggling families and stabilize the housing market, policy experts at The Greenlining Institute said today.
“We’re pleased that California homeowners facing foreclosure and those who have lost homes will get meaningful help without the banks getting a complete get-out-of-jail-free card,” said Greenlining Institute Executive Director Orson Aguilar. “Kamala Harris deserves applause for hanging tough to make sure Californians get real relief and that the enforcement mechanisms have teeth.”
California homeowners are expected to get up to $18 billion in relief, of which $12 billion will be in principal reduction, with priority going to hardest-hit regions.
“We applaud the incentives for principal reduction and the relief for struggling homeowners not covered by the administration’s just-announced housing plan,” Aguilar added. “This deal is a first step toward meaningful relief for distressed homeowners, and we look forward to more,” a statement from the California Community Advocates said.
“It will be crucial to make sure this assistance gets to those who need it,” Aguilar said. “There must be an aggressive outreach strategy to ensure that distressed homeowners know about these options, and it needs to include non-traditional outreach through organizations like housing counseling agencies, community development corporations, nonprofitsw, churches and the ethnic media.”
The agreement between the Department of Justice, state attorneys general and banks stems from disclosure of widespread mishandling of foreclosure processing, revealed in 2010.
“There is no doubt that the settlement announced today is stronger than it would have otherwise been, due to the courageous stance of AG Harris and others, who fought hard to bring more relief to homeowners and make sure that any settlement does not allow the banks to avoid accountability for fraudulent activity not yet investigated,” said.
However, the reported restitution payment for those who already lost their homes is just a tiny fraction of the wealth stripped from so many families, especially families of color.
We look forward to working closely with the Attorney General’s office to pursue meaningful, permanent reform for Californians that will hold the banks accountable.
“This settlement is a down payment on the debt owed to homeowners and communities by the Wall Street gamblers that crashed our economy. It will bring relief to some of the victims of the fraud and abuse of Wall Street, but there is much more that needs to be done.
