The Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight (OSMO) has issued its first progress report on how the five financial institutions that signed the National Mortgage Settlement are meeting their obligations.
"The report discloses that the banks have granted $10.56 billion in consumer relief to borrowers between March 1 and June 30," says Joseph A. Smith Jr., monitor of the settlement. "Additionally, first lien principal reduction trials were offered and begun for about 28,000 homeowners, totaling approximately $3 billion of potential relief. This information is self-reported and has not been confirmed by the professional firms working with me. Further, it represents gross dollar amounts and cannot be used to evaluate progress toward the banks' $20 billion obligation.
