Bank Settlement Will Help Californians, Greenlining Institute Says
February 9th, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CA A.G. Harris Helped Strengthen Deal; Follow-Through Will Be Key to Ensuring Help Reaches Struggling Families
Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – The “robo-signing” settlement announced today represents real help for California homeowners who suffered due to misdeeds by loan servicers and other financial institutions, but more must still be done to help struggling families and stabilize the housing market, policy experts at The Greenlining Institute said today.
“We’re pleased that California homeowners facing foreclosure and those who have lost homes will get meaningful help without the banks getting a complete get-out-of-jail-free card,” said Greenlining Institute Executive Director Orson Aguilar. “Kamala Harris deserves applause for hanging tough to make sure Californians get real relief and that the enforcement mechanisms have teeth.”
California homeowners are expected to get up to $18 billion in relief, of which $12 billion will be in principal reduction, with priority going to hardest-hit regions.
“We applaud the incentives for principal reduction and the relief for struggling homeowners not covered by the administration’s just-announced housing plan,” Aguilar added. “This deal is a first step toward meaningful relief for distressed homeowners, and we look forward to more.
“It will be crucial to make sure this assistance gets to those who need it,” Aguilar said. “There must be an aggressive outreach strategy to ensure that distressed homeowners know about these options, and it needs to include non-traditional outreach through organizations like housing counseling agencies, community development corporations, nonprofits , churches and the ethnic media.”
The agreement between the Department of Justice, state attorneys general and banks stems from disclosure of widespread mishandling of foreclosure processing, revealed in 2010.
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THE GREENLINING INSTITUTE
A Multi-Ethnic Public Policy, Research and Advocacy Institute
www.greenlining.org
