MW: U.S. in $8.5 bln foreclosure pact with 10 banks
By Ronald D. Orol
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Federal regulators on Monday reached an $8.5 billion settlement with ten large financial institutions over foreclosure abuses. The settlement includes $3.3 billion in cash payments to borrowers who went through problematic foreclosures. An additional $5.2 billion will be distributed to homeowners in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The banks include Bank of America BAC -0.58% , Citigroup C -0.61% , Wells Fargo WFC -0.80% and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM -0.31% and six others. The Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are still in discussions with four other financial institutions including HSBC HBC +0.13% . The settlement comes roughly a year after state and federal government officials in February, 2011 agreed to a record housing settlement of more than $26 billion with five of the country's biggest banks over foreclosure abuses.
