Scott Reckard of the Los Angeles Times wrote an article this month saying that Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and 4 other banks still aren’t complying with customer-service standards imposed by a federal regulator.
Morris Morgan, deputy controller for large banks at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, was quoted as saying “we’re not satisfied with where they are at this point in time.” Orders were issued in April 2011 and amended in February 2013. So, four years down the road, the non-complying banks are expected to take “months, not years” to meet servicing standards.
The banks must seek permission from the comptroller to name senior servicing managers, set up offshore call centers or acquire mortgage servicing business, which collects payments and handles foreclosures.
The harshest penalties were against San Francisco based Wells Fargo, California’s largest bank and one of the top four nationwide. Wells was banned from acquiring mortgage servicing rights or setting up servicing in other countries until they can show that they are complying with the terms of consent orders.
A Wells Fargo spokesman said it had made “significant changes” in servicing and expected “to complete that work in the coming months.”
Stay tuned!
