Preliminary Fed. Reserve report shows no “wrongful foreclosures”

It’s back to the drawing board for the Fed’s report on foreclosures after questions from the board’s Consumer Advisory Council.

The council was surprised to hear the findings of a Federal Reserve Board report that said an investigation discovered there were no wrongful foreclosures after reviewing more than 500 files.  “We in the room, including the financial sector, I might add, were totally taken aback,” says Rashmi Rangan, council member and executive director of the Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council.  

The Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council met last week in Washington to talk about the nation’s foreclosure crisis and other issues.  Rangan says panel members immediately questioned the board’s definition of “wrongful foreclosure.”  

She says, “We were kind of concerned that the full depth of the report would not be [made] public because there were a few things again that caught us off guard.”  One of those concerns included in the report was the finding that at least one foreclosure processor was still using antiquated DOS (Disk Operating System) technology.  

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Last year, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden joined his counterparts in other states in calling on banks to stop foreclosure proceedings after it came to light that some foreclosure documents had been signed by the banks without ever being reviewed for accuracy.  “Foreclosure can leave long-lasting financial and emotional scars on children and families,” Biden said last October. “It is important that no Delaware family loses their home because a bank makes a paperwork error.”

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