(Boston, MA) A newly proposed $10 Billion settlement that includes 14 of the largest
lenders being initiated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) may be significant, but the devil is in the details. NACA submitted the largest number of files for Independent Foreclosure
Review (“IFR”) with over 65,000 direct filings and over 5 million pages of supporting documents. That
puts NACA in the best position to monitor the OCC settlement with the lenders to ensure that the most
victimized homeowners get the over $4 billion proposed payments from the lenders.
The OCC is leading the talks because the current settlement, which is based on file reviews by
independent consultants, has proven expensive and inadequate when it comes to homeowner relief.
The independent consultants, hired by the lenders to review over 450,000 mortgage cases, have
already cost more than $1.5 billion with billions of additional costs to come. These massive costs
continue to mount with not one homeowner receiving any compensation due to the lender’s wrongful
acts which are extensively documented and universally accepted.
The OCC claims it wants a faster and less expensive way to help homeowners victimized by the
lenders. This needs to be compared to the failure of the administration and regulators in addressing the
mortgage crisis. The agreement with the administration and a number of Attorneys General was more
public relations for the presidential campaign than real help for homeowners in addressing the
mortgage crisis. In addition the newly created Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has done
absolutely nothing to hold lender’s responsible and to protect homeowners. While CFPB should be
overseeing all of the financial institutions in the U.S., they have failed when it comes to supporting
homeowners and holding the lenders accountable for one the country’s worst financial crisis.
NACA’s founder and CEO Bruce Marks is optimistic about the OCC initiative but cautious. “I have
firsthand knowledge of the power of regulators since I was once a regulator at the Federal Reserve
Bank”, states Bruce Marks. “The lack of action against the lenders and failure to protect and advocate
for homeowners by the country’s major regulators are outrageous”, continues Bruce Marks. “We are
guardedly optimistic that Tom Curry, the new director of the OCC, will be able to overcome resistance
from the Federal Reserve and others to be the first regulator in this Administration to hold the lenders
responsible by providing real solutions and benefits for victimized homeowners.”
About the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (www.naca.com):
NACA is the largest HUD certified counseling agency. It provides about 30% of the counseling in the
country. It has more than 2 million members. NACA provides free housing assistance to those at risk of
foreclosure by restructuring mortgages to an affordable payment and by originating low interest home
loans to mainly first time home buyers. NACA has been highlighted in the national news and its CEO
Bruce Marks was named Bostonian of the Year for 2007 because of his work in getting the major
lenders and servicers to modify home loans for borrowers who come through NACA. See Bostonian of
the Year. He has also testified in congress on numerous occasions including on September 12, 2000,
being one of the only people to sound the alarm of the pending mortgage crisis. For more information
go to www.naca.com