GMAC Residential Capital Lists 200-999 Creditors, Failing to Disclose Tens of Thousands of Homeowner Claims
By Daniel Edstrom
DTC Systems, Inc.
Note that the original article has been updated to fix my mistake of showing 299 creditors when the number of creditors listed on the Voluntary Petition was 200-999. On April 13, 2011 the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a Cease and Desist Consent Order against Ally Financial Inc. fka GMAC LLC, Ally Bank fka GMAC Bank, Residential Capital LLC (and its direct and indirect subsidiaries) and GMAC Mortgage LLC. During the period of 1/1/2009 to 12/31/2010, the Mortgage Servicing Companies completed 89,998 foreclosure actions, representing less than 4 percent of the Servicing Portfolio over such such time period. View the attached Voluntary Petition below to see the number of creditors identified. The regulators found the following:
WHEREAS, in connection with the process leading to certain foreclosures involving the Servicing Portfolio, the Mortgage Servicing Companies allegedly:
- Filed or caused to be filed in state courts and in connection with bankruptcy proceedings in federal courts numerous affidavits executed by employees of the Mortgage Servicing Companies or employees of third-party providers making various assertions, such as the ownership of the mortgage note and mortgage, the amount of principal and interest due, and the fees and expenses chargeable to the borrower, in which the affiant represented that the assertions in the affidavit were made based on personal knowledge or based on a review by the affiant of the relevant books and records, when, in many cases, they were not based on such knowledge or review;
- Filed or caused to be filed in courts in various states and in connection with bankruptcy proceedings in federal courts or in the local land record offices, numerous affidavits and other mortgage-related documents that were not properly notarized, including those not signed or affirmed in the presence of a notary;
- Litigated foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings and initiated non-judicial foreclosures without always confirming that documentation of ownership was in order at the appropriate time, including confirming that the promissory note and mortgage document were properly endorsed or assigned and, if necessary, in the possession of the appropriate party;
- Failed to respond in a sufficient and timely manner to the increased level of foreclosures by increasing financial, staffing, and managerial resources to ensure that the Mortgage Servicing Companies adequately handled the foreclosure process; and failed to respond in a sufficient and timely manner to the increased level of Loss Mitigation Activities to ensure timely, effective and efficient communication with borrowers with respect to Loss Mitigation Activities and foreclosure activities; and
- Failed to have adequate internal controls, policies and procedures, compliance risk management, internal audit, training, and oversight of the foreclosure process, including sufficient oversight of outside counsel and other third-party providers handling foreclosure-related services with respect to the Servicing Portfolio.
WHEREAS, the practices set forth above allegedly constitute unsafe or unsound banking practices;
The Cease and Desist Consent Order includes a Foreclosure Review, which calls for remediation to homeowners:
Foreclosure Review
3. (a) Within 45 days of this Order, GMAC Mortgage shall retain one or more independent consultant(s) acceptable to the Reserve Bank to conduct an independent review of certain residential mortgage foreclosure actions (including judicial and non-judicial foreclosures and related bankruptcy proceedings, and other related litigation) regarding individual borrowers with respect to the Servicing Portfolio. The review shall include actions or proceedings (including foreclosures that were in process or completed) for loans serviced by the Mortgage Servicing Companies, whether brought in the name of the Ally Bank, the Mortgage Servicing Companies, the investor, or any agent for the mortgage note holder (including MERS) that have been pending at any time from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010, as well as residential foreclosure sales that occurred during this time period (“Foreclosure Review”). The purpose of the Foreclosure Review shall be to determine, at a minimum:
(i) whether, at the time the foreclosure action was initiated or the pleading or affidavit filed (including in bankruptcy proceedings and in defending suits brought by borrowers), the foreclosing party or agent of the party had properly documented ownership of the promissory note and mortgage (or deed of trust) under relevant state law, or was otherwise a proper party to the action as a result of agency or other similar status;
(ii) whether the foreclosure was in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, including but not limited to, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code;
(iii) whether, with respect to non-judicial foreclosures, the procedures followed with respect to the foreclosure sale (including the calculation of the default period, the amounts due, and compliance with notice periods) and post-sale confirmation were in accordance with the terms of the mortgage loan and state law requirements;
(iv) whether a foreclosure sale occurred when the borrower had requested a loan modification or other loss mitigation and the request was under consideration; when the loan was performing in accordance with a trial or permanent loan modification; or when the loan had not been in default for a sufficient period to authorize foreclosure pursuant to terms of the mortgage loan documentation and related agreements;
(v) whether any delinquent borrower’s account was charged fees or penalties that were not permissible under the terms of the borrower’s loan documents, state or federal law, or were otherwise unreasonable. For purposes of this Order, a fee or penalty is “otherwise unreasonable” if it was assessed: (i) for the purpose of protecting the secured party’s interest in the mortgaged property, and the fee or penalty was assessed at a frequency or rate, was of a type or amount, or was for a purpose that was in fact not needed to protect the secured party’s interest; (ii) for services performed and the fee charged was substantially in excess of the fair market value of the service; (iii) for services performed, and the services were not actually performed; or (iv) at an amount or rate that exceeds what is customarily charged in the market for such a fee or penalty, and the mortgage instruments or other documents executed by the borrower did not disclose the amount or rate that the lender or servicer would charge for such a fee or penalty;
(vi) whether Loss Mitigation Activities with respect to foreclosed loans were handled in accordance with the requirements of HAMP, if applicable, and consistent with the policies and procedures applicable to the Mortgage Servicing Companies’ proprietary loan modifications or other Loss Mitigation programs, such that each borrower had an adequate opportunity to apply for a Loss Mitigation option or program, any such application was handled appropriately, and a final decision was made on a reasoned basis and was communicated to the borrower before the foreclosure sale; and
(vii) whether any errors, misrepresentations, or other deficiencies identified in the Foreclosure Review resulted in financial injury to the borrower or the owner of the mortgage loan.
(b) The independent consultant(s) shall prepare a written report detailing the findings of the Foreclosure Review (the “Foreclosure Report”). GMAC Mortgage shall provide to the Reserve Bank a copy of the Foreclosure Report at the same time that the report is provided to it. Simultaneously, a copy of the portion of the Foreclosure Report that addresses Ally Bank’s Servicing Portfolio shall be furnished to Ally Bank and the FDIC.
(c) Within 45 days of receipt of the Foreclosure Report, GMAC Mortgage shall submit to the Reserve Bank an acceptable plan to:
(i) remediate, as appropriate, errors, misrepresentations, or other deficiencies in any foreclosure filing or other proceeding;
(ii) reimburse or otherwise provide appropriate remediation to the borrower for any impermissible or otherwise unreasonable penalties, fees or expenses, or for other financial injury identified in paragraph 3 of this Order;
(iii) make appropriate adjustments for the account of Ally Bank, the GSEs, or any investor; and
(iv) take appropriate steps to remediate any foreclosure sale where the foreclosure was not authorized as described in paragraph 3.
(d) Within 60 days after the Reserve Bank accepts the plan described in paragraph 3(c), the Mortgage Servicing Companies shall make all reimbursement and remediation payments and provide all credits required by such plan, and provide the Reserve Bank with a report detailing such payments and credits.
4. Within 15 days of the engagement of the independent consultant(s) described in paragraph 3 of this Order, but prior to the commencement of the Foreclosure Review, GMAC Mortgage shall submit to the Reserve Bank for approval an engagement letter that sets forth:
(a) The methodology for conducting the Foreclosure Review, including: (i) a description of the information systems and documents to be reviewed, including the selection criteria for cases to be reviewed; (ii) the criteria for evaluating the reasonableness of fees and penalties under paragraph 3(a)(v); (iii) other procedures necessary to make the required determinations (such as through interviews of employees and third parties and a process for the receipt and review of borrower claims and complaints); and (iv) any proposed sampling techniques. In setting the scope and review methodology, the independent consultant may consider any work already done by Ally Financial, GMAC Mortgage, or other third-parties on behalf of Ally Financial or GMAC Mortgage. With respect to sampling techniques, the engagement letter shall contain a full description of the statistical basis for the sampling methods chosen, as well as procedures to increase the size of the sample depending on the results of initial sampling;
(b) the expertise and resources to be dedicated to the Foreclosure Review;
(c) completion of the Foreclosure Review and the Foreclosure Report within 120 days of the start of the engagement; and
(d) a written commitment that any workpapers associated with the Foreclosure Review will be made available to the Reserve Bank upon request.
Notices regarding this Cease and Desist Consent Order were allegedly sent to every homeowner who was in any stage of foreclosure from the period 1/1/2009 to 12/31/2010. Why are they not being included as a creditor or claimant in GMAC’s bankruptcy?
Here is the Voluntary Petition for GMAC Residential Capital: http://dtc-systems.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/1-RESCAP_Voluntary_Petition.pdf
Here is the Voluntary Petition for GMAC Residential Funding Corporation: http://dtc-systems.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/1-RFC_Voluntary_Petition.pdf
