The original National Mortgage Settlement servicers officially completed the final metric tests as of the end of third quarter ] 2015, marking the completion of the NMS rules for the servicers, Joseph Smith, Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, announced on Thursday.
The original servicers include: Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo. Ditech acquired a portion of the portfolio from another original servicer, ResCap Parties and therefore was subject to the terms of the NMS agreement.
As monitor, Smith said he evaluated the servicers using the 29 original metrics, or tests, enumerated in the settlement and four additional metrics he negotiated with the servicers and the monitoring committee. These metrics determined whether the servicers adhered to the servicing standards, or rules, contained in the NMS.
“The settlement has improved the way these servicers treat distressed borrowers,” said Smith. “The banks undertook more than 630,000 transactions and provided borrowers with more than $50 billion in consumer relief, and I believe the Settlement contributed towards the rebuilding of public trust and confidence in the mortgage market. I hope that it will inform future regulation of financial institutions and markets.”
Smith added that these servicers, like all servicers, remain accountable to servicing-related rules the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued and will continue to enforce.
The report does not include an update on compliance by Ocwen orSunTrust in the third quarter 2015. Their obligations to comply with the NMS’s servicing standards continue under their individual settlements. Smith said he will file a report on Ocwen’s and SunTrust’s performance for the third and fourth quarters 2015 later this year.
Back in March 2014, Smith announced that Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo fulfilled the consumer relief obligations of the National Mortgage Settlement and provided more than $50 billion of gross relief, which equated to more than $20 billion in credited relief.
Here’s a clip of Smith giving an update on his final report.
