Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced a $550 million joint state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer SunTrust Mortgage Inc. to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses. The announcement marks the third major settlement with banks and mortgage service providers since the collapse of the housing market across the nation.
The three-year settlement provides direct payments to Rhode Island borrowers for past foreclosure abuses, loan modifications and other relief for borrowers in need of assistance, tough new mortgage servicing standards, and grants oversight authority to an independent monitor. The settlement includes Rhode Island and 48 other states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
"This settlement holds another major mortgage servicer accountable for its unacceptable past practices, and provides direct relief to Rhode Island borrowers," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "I continue to work with my fellow attorneys general and our federal partners to hold those responsible for the housing collapse accountable, which nearly brought this country to its financial knees. These efforts have paid off with the banks and mortgage service providers reforming their bad practices and homeowners seeing relief in the form of reduced principal, refinancing and loan forgiveness."
SunTrust Agreement Closely Mirrors National Mortgage Settlement The agreement's mortgage servicing terms largely mirrors the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) reached in February 2012 between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general, including Rhode Island and the five largest national mortgage servicers. That agreement has provided consumers nationwide with more than $50 billion in direct relief, created tough new servicing standards, and implemented independent oversight.
Loan Modifications The agreement requires SunTrust to provide certain Rhode Island borrowers with loan modifications or other relief. The modifications, which SunTrust chooses through an extensive list of options, include principal reductions and refinancing for underwater mortgages. SunTrust decides how many loans and which loans to modify, but must meet certain minimum targets. Because SunTrust receives only partial settlement credit for many types of loan modifications, the settlement will provide relief to borrowers that will exceed the overall minimum amount.
More information about the loan modification process will be released at a later date, though current borrowers with loans serviced by SunTrust can contact the company directly with questions.
Payments to Borrowers Eligible Rhode Island borrowers whose loans were serviced by SunTrust and who lost their home to foreclosure from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2013 and encountered servicing abuse will be eligible for a payment from the national $40 million fund for payments to borrowers. The borrower payment amount will depend on how many borrowers file claims.
Eligible borrowers will be contacted about how to qualify for payments.
New Mortgage Servicing Standards The settlement requires SunTrust to substantially change how it services mortgage loans, handles foreclosures, and ensures the accuracy of information provided in federal bankruptcy court.
The terms will prevent past foreclosure abuses, such as robo-signing, improper documentation and lost paperwork.
The settlement creates dozens of new consumer protections and standards, including:
• Making foreclosure a last resort by first requiring SunTrust to evaluate homeowners for other loss mitigation options;
• Restricting foreclosure while the homeowner is being considered for a loan modification;
• New procedures and timelines for reviewing loan modification applications;
• Giving homeowners the right to appeal denials;
• Requiring a single point of contact for borrowers seeking information about their loans and maintaining adequate staff to handle calls.
Independent Monitor The National Mortgage Settlement's independent monitor, Joseph A. Smith Jr., will oversee SunTrust agreement compliance. Smith served as the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks from 2002 until 2012, and is also the former Chairman of the Conference of State Banks Supervisors (CSBS). Smith will oversee implementation of the servicing standards required by the agreement; impose penalties of up to $1 million per violation (or up to $5 million for certain repeat violations); and issue regular public reports that identify any quarter in which a servicer fell short of the standards imposed in the settlement.
Additional Terms The agreement resolves potential violations of civil law based on SunTrust's deficient mortgage loan origination and servicing activities. The agreement does not prevent state or federal authorities from pursuing criminal enforcement actions related to this or other conduct by SunTrust, or from punishing wrongful securitization conduct that is the focus of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group. Additionally, the agreement does not prevent any action by individual borrowers who wish to bring their own lawsuits.
The agreement will be filed as a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
About SunTrust SunTrust, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SunTrust Banks Inc., a bank and financial services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Contact information for SunTrust borrowers who may have settlement-related questions, including whether they may qualify for certain forms of relief should call toll-free number, 1-800-634-7928, or visit the website www.SunTrustMortgage.com.