A state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer HSBC will provide direct payments to Delaware borrowers for past foreclosure abuses, loan modifications and other relief for borrowers in need of assistance, rigorous mortgage servicing standards, and grants oversight authority to an independent monitor.
Attorney General Matt Denn joined the federal government and other state attorneys in announcing the settlement with HSBC to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses.
The settlement includes Delaware 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 provides relief to previous and current Delaware borrowers and compels HSBC to treat its borrowers much more fairly in the future,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “This company will have to change its practices and raise its standards for how it treats consumers, as other companies have through others settlements in recent years.”
The HSBC agreement requires the company to provide eligible Delaware borrowers with loan modifications or other relief. The modifications, which HSBC chooses through an extensive list of options, include principal reductions and refinancing for underwater mortgages. HSBC decides how many loans and which loans to modify, but must meet certain minimum targets. Because HSBC 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.
Approximately 240 eligible Delaware borrowers whose loans were serviced by HSBC and who lost their home to foreclosure from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2012 and encountered servicing abuse will be eligible for a payment from a national $59.3 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.