Starting today, the nation’s largest banks will be be required to improve their mortgage servicing. Today is the deadline for Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, to implement hundreds of customer service improvements on its home loans as manadated by the Attorney General.
The standards forbid the practice of filing forged legal paperwork to speed the foreclosure process. In addition, mortgage servicing practices no longer can foreclose on a borrower while simultaneously negotiating a loan modification. Customers must have a single point of contact, rather than many. And they must treat foreclosure as a last resort.
Quite a challenge ahead for these mortgage banks. Though much of the mess may have been avoided if the mortgage lenders had the right loan software in place.