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SERVICERS WORK TOWARD FULFILLING NATIONAL SETTLEMENT REQUIREMENTS servicers settled with the state attorneys general and several federal agencies to address iniquities in foreclosure processes, Joseph A. Smith Jr., the settlement monitor, released a preliminary report to inform the public of the servicers' progress so far. The five servicers—Ally Financial, Five months after the nation's top five Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo—have offered $10.56 billion in refinance relief to borrowers, meaning mods, short sales, neighborhood blight provisions, and other actions and have implemented between 35 and 72 percent of the 304 servicing standards detailed in the national settlement. The preliminary report "is not required by the settlement and contains information given voluntarily to me by the banks," Smith said. "It is intended to be the basis of a national conver- sation about the servicers' efforts to meet their obligations under the settlement." Additionally, Smith stressed the dollar This translates to about $54,930 per borrower. Short sales and deeds in lieu were a popular loss mitigation technique among the five servicers from March through June, with about 74,614 completed, totaling about $8.67 billion in debt forgiveness for borrowers. Refinances were also popular. The servicers re- financed about 22,073 loans, reducing interest rates to an average of about 2.1 percent, saving borrowers about $4,655 per year on their mortgages. Additionally, as of July 5, four of the five ser- vicers had implemented more than half of the 309 servicing standards required in the national settlement. Standards already addressed by all five ser- vicers include, document integrity in foreclosure proceedings, single point of contact for delin- quent borrowers, servicemember protection, and improved loss mitigation practices. The servicers will continue to implement the amounts throughout the report are uncon- firmed, gross amounts that cannot be used as estimations of the servicers' progress toward the total obligated consumer relief. Regardless, between March and the end of June, the servicers extended about $10.56 billion Bank of America - $4,878,463,535 Citi - $873,408,300 Chase - $3,014,723,815 Wells - $1,038,853,713 $10,561,220,126 in aid and loss mitigation to struggling borrow- ers in a variety of ways. The servicers aided 7,093 borrowers through Network with the Valuation Thought Leaders Membership Benefits remaining standards, according to Smith. Begin- ning in the first quarter of 2013, he says he will evaluate the performance of each servicer against 29 defined metrics for measuring the standards implementation. They'll also continue to work toward providing non-refinance borrower relief in the amount of $16.3 billion throughout the next three years. Any servicer that has not met its mon- NON-REFINANCE RELIEF COMPLETED*: NON-REFINANCE RELIEF REQUIRED: Ally - $755,770,762 Ally - $185,000,000 Bank of America - $7,626,200,000 Citi - $1,411,000,000 Chase - $3,675,400,000 Wells – $3,434,000,000 $16,331,600,000 first lien modifications with principal forgiveness in the amount of $749.4 million. The amount of principal forgiveness per borrower amounts to about $105,650. Bank of America was the only servicer that failed to offer first lien modifications with principal forgiveness under the settlement. About $348.9 million in pre-March forbear- ance has been forgiven for 5,500 borrowers, amounting to an average of $63,445 per borrower. The servicers also modified or forgave second liens for 4,213 borrowers, totaling $231.4 million. 44 etary borrower relief requirements at the end of three years must pay 125 percent of the remaining amount in penalties. Smith's report also relayed the decision to CRN FORUM: The CRN is a private email forum for members only. The purpose is for leadership within the valuation community to act as counsel to each other, share experiences, and assist each other in solving mutual problems. MEETINGS: Quarterly meetings are held across the United States with a specific agenda to return integrity to the appraisal profession. STRATEGY: Collaboration on building a road map for the future and effecting change. employ BDO Consulting as the "primary profes- sional firm" to oversee and enforce settlement requirements. Smith's "goal was to find a firm that not only had the organizational capacity and subject matter expertise to do the work well, but also was independent of all five servicers," he said. BDO will be "responsible for ensuring quality control and making sure that the review of the servicers is done in a consistent way," Smith stated. MEMBERS ACCESS: Private log in area on the site to access CRN Meeting presentations and CRN Membership Directory (updated yearly). www.collateralrisknetwork.com For more information contact JOIN TODAY Joan Trice at jtrice@allterragroup.com or 513.659.1656