This tells you how dysfunctional the state Attorneys General settlement with the banks differs from the federal regulators. They all are not on the same page. Last week, the leader of the state Attorneys General investigation Tom Miller said "We have a long way to go." And now, federal regulators may have an agreement with the banks as early as next week.
WASHINGTON—Fourteen U.S. lenders are on the verge of agreements with federal bank regulators to overhaul their handling of foreclosures and treatment of delinquent borrowers in response to allegations of abuses that emerged last fall.
Regulators including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve and Office of Thrift Supervision could announce the agreements with the banks and thrifts as early as next week, though a date wasn't final, according to people familiar with the matter.
The regulators are likely to act ahead of state attorneys general, who are also in talks with the banks. Those discussions are moving at a slower pace amid disputes among several state officials.
Bank of America Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and 11 other home-loan servicers have been under investigation by their regulators and state officials over breakdowns in procedures for handling foreclosures and requests for loan assistance. Several have acknowledged using so-called robo-signers who filed documents to foreclose on homeowners without personally verifying their contents.
Federal regulators are likely to fine the companies, but those penalties are unlikely to be announced at the same time as the agreements to change bank practices, according to people familiar with the regulators' plans. Any fines, however, could still be coordinated with the state attorneys general.
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