In testimony before a House Financial Services subcommittee, Phyllis Caldwell, chief of Treasury's Homeownership Preservation Office, said her department has pursued "non-monetary remedies" but has not actually imposed any fines on banks for not complying with the administration's flagship $50 billion foreclosure prevention program.
Even in the midst of a growing controversy over allegedly fraudulent foreclosure paperwork, Treasury has not imposed any penalties on banks.
By many estimates, the Home Affordable Modification Program, which was launched last year, has been a failure. Although about 1.5 million borrowers were encouraged to sign up during its first year, 40 percent of those were kicked out of the program after initiating "trial" modifications, HuffPost's Shahien Nasiripour and Arthur Delaney reported. The program was intended to help up to 4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure.
In his latest report to Congress, the special inspector general for TARP Neil Barofsky said the mortgage-modification program can actually cause borrowers to go into foreclosure, due to extra fees that can accumulate on modified loans. The Government Accountability Office reported in March and in June not only that Treasury has not levied any fines on mortgage companies, but also that it hasn't even finalized guidelines for doing so.
THIS IS A FINAL urgent call for Obama to FIRE GEITHNER! He's done nothing but coddle the fraudsters at the dire expense of the middle class. Geithner has proven time and again that he works at the behest of plutocrats and not the 98%.
HAMP is a great program that's been indecently run. The government should have been in charge of administrating HAMP from the beginning, not the banksters whose bottom line is improved from foreclosure rather than a HAMP award. LOOSE Geithner, and put Warren in his place.