Once again, New York has found itself in the middle of a storm regarding the proposed settlement between states and big mortgage banks.
In a surprising development, New York’s AG Eric Schneiderman, who seemed to be on the verge of supporting the deal, called a press conference and some expected him to throw his support behind the settlement. That would have been a significant milestone, as he has been the leader of the anti-settlement group of states. But then he abruptly canceled the press conference, reports the Washington Post, leaving people to scratch their heads all over again.
Recall that after Schneiderman filed a suit against three top consumer mortgage originators and MERS, the banks responded, according to some reports, by making the withdrawal of that suit a new condition for them to sign the settlement. It’s unclear where all that stands. It’s also unclear what would have to be included in the settlement for Schneiderman to withdraw his suit.
The stakes are high for the banks. If they cannot get New York and California in the fold, the value proposition of inking a deal goes down precipitously, as one would expect more litigation from California and other states. As of now, it’s hard to handicap how this will turn out, or even when we’ll get a result. Deadlines have meant little in this process.
For more:
- here’s the article
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