Title
Calling on the Federal Taskforce of States Attorney General's negotiating a settlement with the major banks related to the mortgage crisis, not to offer any settlement that would grant banks immunity to further prosecution, and to preserve each States right to pursue legal action on the broader issues of mortgage abuse.
Body
WHEREAS, Since 2004, the United States (U.S.) has suffered from a mortgage crisis caused by a number of factors prevalent in both the housing and credit markets, including substandard underwriting practices by lenders, the prevalence of non-traditional mortgages with low initial interest rates and an increase in private label securitization; and
WHEREAS, Since 2006, more than 3 million homes have been repossessed through foreclosure in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Nationwide as of 2010, another 2.9 million homes were in foreclosure, a 23% increase since 2008; and
WHEREAS, 22.7 percent of residential properties with mortgages are underwater, or worth less than the mortgage on the property; and
WHEREAS, Following the mortgage collapse the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) increased its investigation into fraudulent activities associated with the mortgage process based on an analysis of suspicious activity reports filed by federally insured financial institutions, which increased from 6,936 reports filed in 2003 to 67,190 in 2009; and
WHEREAS, The FBI investigations and those of other law enforcement entities, such as State Attorneys General across the U.S. investigated instances of fraud related to the origination of loans, the securitization of mortgage loans by sponsor banks and the servicing of mortgages; and
WHEREAS, In October 2010, many major banks heeded the call of attorneys, stakeholders and the judiciary by placing a moratorium on foreclosure proceedings after reports of fraudulent procedural activities surfaced, including, the failure to verify and notarize legal documents used to initiate foreclo...
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