BoA settlement likely to benefit few

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BANK_OF_AMERICA_SETTLEMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-21-17-35-11

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bank of America's record $16.65 billion settlement for its role in selling shoddy mortgage bonds - $7 billion of it geared for consumer relief - offers a glint of hope for desperate homeowners.

The settlement requires the second-largest U.S. bank to reduce some homeowners' loan balances, provide new loans to low-income buyers and address areas of neighborhood blight.

But consumer advocates say relatively few people will be helped relative to the devastation triggered by the mortgage bonds, which fueled the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and threw millions of homes into foreclosure.

Only a fraction of homeowners would be eligible for refinancing under the settlement. And the process by which people would qualify and receive aid could drag on for years, with payouts set to be completed as late as 2018.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Just like all the other settlements...

I have no clue who gets the money
or even if any money is exchanged.

[hatrack]

2. Except for BOA, which gets to write off $12 billion of it on their taxes

Why do we even have a Justice Department? Why do we even bother to have an SEC? What's the point?

[Phentex]

3. I skimmed the article but who does someone contact?

My friend went through hell with Bank of America and mortgage issues. They ended up filing for bankruptcy so they wouldn't lose their house. Would they be notified if they were part of the settlement?

[woo me with science]

4. The DOJ's purpose is to protect the banks.

The executive branch's purpose is to protect the banks.

The legislative branch's purpose is to protect the banks.

And, yes, the judicial branch is protecting the banks, too.

We live in an oligarchy now. Fascism has come to America.

[ljm2002]

5. What a joke...

...it's years after the worst of the crisis, and those homeowners who might have been helped way back then are not likely to see any relief now -- if they're even still in their homes.

Meanwhile, the banks were made whole and were allowed to float along for years keeping those mortgages valued at face value (for purposes of balancing their books) even when it was apparent they weren't worth half that. But our fucking rulers decided that what's good for the banks is good for the USA, and what's bad for the peons doesn't matter anyway... and here we are, years later, with the assholes getting a big fine after making way bigger profits, and still no one is held criminally accountable and those who most need relief won't be getting it, ever.

Pffft.