While the Obama administration and the country’s lenders struggle to come to terms that both sides find acceptable to help settle foreclosure fraud and robo-signer issues on a national scale, the regulator of the nation’s largest banks (nearly all of whom are embroiled in the mess) is conspicuously absent from the fray[1]. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has raised concerns with the settlement that the fine in the settlement and the proposed new mortgage procedures that go along with it will not actually benefit much of anyone[2]. The OCC contends that only a small number of people were actually victims in the flawed foreclosure processes conducted by banks, and, that while lenders were certainly in the wrong, that $20 billion is simply too high a number to be viable for lenders. Not surprisingly, proponents of the bill are accusing the OCC of continuing the “coddle” lenders and warning that until a settlement is reached, the entire issue will continue to drag down the U.S. economic recovery.

Officials from the OCC say that they are not standing in the way of a government-wide settlement, but the office is also pursuing a possible settlement directly with the banks it oversees. What do you think that this division means for the settlement and is it a good thing or a bad thing?

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[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/03/AR2011030306315.html

[2] http://www.ocala.com/article/20110303/ZNYT01/103033009/-1/NEWS?Title=Officials-Disagree-on-Penalties-for-Mortgage-Mess