House panel asks to see foreclosure settlement

[January 07, 2013]  (AP) -- A House oversight panel wants to review a proposed settlement between 14 banks and federal regulators over improper foreclosure practices.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has conducted hearings on foreclosure abuses, wrote a letter Friday to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency asking to see any proposed settlement before it is agreed to. In the letter, the committee asks for more information about how the settlement amount is to be determined. A comptroller spokesman declined to comment, and a Federal Reserve spokesman did not return a message.

The settlement had been expected as early as this weekend and total $10 billion. The agreement is designed to hold mortgage lenders responsible for widespread abuses such as processing foreclosures without verifying documents.

[Associated Press]

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