Financial Services Committee Grills Regulators On Questionable Foreclosures

By A.J. Swartwood

With reports of mass “robo-signings” and other questionable foreclosure practices becoming more prevalent, the Financial Services Committee heard a panel of regulators and experts on issues in mortgage servicing Thursday morning. 

After hearing the first five panelists basically saying that the government and their respective agencies were actively engaged in verifying the efficacy and legality of the mortgage servicers, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said that she was critical of the Treasury’s failure to impose monetary fines in instances of false foreclosures as they had said they would in 2009. At first, Phyllis Caldwell, chief of the Treasury Department’s Homeownership Preservation Office, tried to dodge the question, but eventually acknowledged the fact they had not imposed any monetary sanctions on those who had violated the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Members of the committee expressed frustration over the seeming inability for regulators to get the job done.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) said, “What we didn’t need is more regulation, what we needed is regulators who are doing their jobs.”

The Federal Reserve, FDIC and other regulating agencies are expected to release the results of their review of mortgaging servicers next year.