Liberal Democrats say $25B settlement with banks is insufficient

[Dover]

Source: The Hill

Liberal Democrats are pushing back this week against news that the Obama administration is finalizing a multi-billion dollar settlement with the banks that bungled mortgage loans at the expense of homeowners.

The Department of Justice and the 50 state attorneys general are nearing a deal to apply $25 billion in foreclosure-abuse penalties to the nation's largest mortgage servicers — the companies that buy the rights to manage loans from mortgage lenders – according to numerous reports.

But Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, say that figure is a drop in the bucket compared to the wealth homeowners lost when the housing bubble burst, creating the conditions that led to the Great Recession.

The banks, the lawmakers maintain, are getting off much too easy.


Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/1091-housing/191991-liberal-dems-say-25-billion-bank-settlement-is-insufficient