Countrywide Settles Fraud Cases

0

Countrywide Financial Corp., the home mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America Corp. in July, will offer interest rate and loan principal reductions plus other distressed borrower relief valued at $8.4 billion to settle consumer fraud complaints from 11 states.

The accord, which includes relocation assistance for homeowners whose homes have been or are about to be foreclosed, will affect about 400,000 customers and resolves lawsuits filed by attorneys general in Illinois, California, Connecticut and Florida and complaints from seven other states, according to attorneys general Lisa Madigan of Illinois and Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown of California.

The cases, initially filed in state courts in Chicago and Los Angeles, accused the lender of using deceptive practices, including the use of low introductory or “teaser” rates, to entice borrowers to take loans for which payments eventually grew to amounts homeowners couldn’t afford.



& #8226;

Read the full

Bloomberg News

story.

No posts to display