$26 Billion in Relief Awarded to Homeowners through Settlement

In response to the robo-signing settlement made back in February with the attorney general, the five banks involved have generated a total of $26 billion in relief to affected homeowners.

The banks, including Bank of America, Citibank, Ally Financial, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, have issued the relief primarily in the form of reduced interest rates, modified principals and debt forgiveness. With the single exception of Oklahoma, affected residents in every state and Washington D.C. have been eligible to apply for relief.

According to figures reported on CNN, a total of 309,385 homeowners have received aid from the settlement so far, with an average of $84,385 awarded per borrower. 50,000 borrowers received modified or forgiven loans, and 37,396 had their interest reduced by an average of 2.34 percent. 21,833 borrowers obtained loan modifications that reduced their mortgages by an average of $116,929.

In total, the settlement called for $25 billion in relief. However, as part of the deal, the banks do not receive full credit on all types of aid given. Principal reductions on first mortgages receive full credit, but forgiving missed payments or erasing home equity loans offers only partial credit.

The Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight, which was established to keep track of how diligent the banks have been in fulfilling their settlement obligations, released the figures in a preliminary report compiled from data submitted by the banks. A full audited report is expected to be released next year.