A nationwide foreclosure settlement with five major mortgage lenders means thousands of Kentuckians will receive direct payments, loan modifications, or principal write-downs. Kentucky was one of the last states to agree to the $25 billion deal with Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and Ally Financial. Attorney General Jack Conway says the Commonwealth will receive $58.8 million of the settlement.
“We’re going to use in the Office of Attorney General a significant portion of this money to make certain that we continue to fund our efforts to investigate these abuses on behalf of homeowners," said Conway. "We’re going to look at securitization issues with General Schneiderman of New York and other AGs. And we’re going to thoroughly investigate the issue of MERS, which is the Mortgage Electronic Registration System and its effects on the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
Conway also announced that he subpoenaed MERS for allegedly failing to properly record mortgage assignments and pay filing fees with county clerks. The five banks in the settlement are expected to contact eligible consumers about their assistance options.