These are the thugs "scoff-laws" that our newly-formed Homeland Security apparatus, works so damn hard to protect, from the likes of peaceful protest marchers like OWS:
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is suing HSBC (HBC)
seekingalpha.com -- June 4, 2013
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is suing HSBC (HBC) for allegedly breaching state law by not giving distressed homeowners the opportunity to negotiate loan modifications when they fell into the foreclosure process. HSBC often failed to file the requisite paperwork that would have triggered a settlement conference, but continued to charge interest and fees. This increased the amounts that homeowners owed and reduced their chances of qualifying for relief. [...]
HSBC Sued for Foreclosure Violation
by Zacks Equity Research, June 05, 2013
[...]
The particular law requires court-supervised settlement meetings to be held within 60 days of filing for foreclosures. This process provides homeowners with an opportunity to negotiate loan modification, thereby leading to reduction in monthly payments.
The AG claimed that HSBC had failed to provide homeowners the option to negotiate mortgage modifications, consequently leading them to face foreclosure proceedings. The company allegedly failed to file Request for Judicial Intervention forms related to foreclosure for hundreds of cases for almost 2 years.
Further, HSBC continued to charge interest and fees, as well as penalties from homeowners. This increased the debt amount for homeowners, thus further lowering their chance of qualifying for mortgage modifications.
[...]
HSBC sued by New York over foreclosure abuses
by Neale Gulley and Jonathan Stempel, BUFFALO, N.Y., Reuters.com -- Jun 4, 2013
[...]
OTHER BANKS
The attorney general is still eyeing possible lawsuits against Bank of America Corp and Wells Fargo & Co for violating terms of a nationwide settlement over mortgage servicing abuses.
Schneiderman accused the nation's second- and fourth-largest banks last month of having failed to timely process modification applications. Wells Fargo is also the largest U.S. mortgage lender.
The $25 billion settlement reached in February 2012 also covered Ally Financial Inc, Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co, but not HSBC.
[...]
These behemoth
home-crushers hardly seem worthy of our Tax-Funded
DHS protection, eh?
When is Too Big to Fail, ever going to become Too Big to Exist?
Good thing we can count on Chris Hayes to dig into the still weighty matters of the day. Being illegally forced out of your own home, so Big Banks can rake in the profits -- is No Joke.
It's still happening in America. And on Democrats' watch no less ...
Affidavits detail art of lying to struggling homeowners by B of A employee
All In with Chris Hayes, June 18, 2013
link to video
Here's my user-enhanced cleanup of the automated transcript of that Show:
Hayes: According to sworn affidavits and a massive federal lawsuit, Bank of America employees were told to lie to struggling homeowners while pretending to help them. But also to lie to the government and to public at large. Here's an example from one former underwriter, Steven Couples. "It was well known among Bank of America employees that the numbers Bank of America was reporting to the government and the public were not true." I'm here with Alexis Goldstein, Dan Dicker, and Eric Schneiderman.
Hayes: I want to talk about a framework of accountability. This is a private lawsuit that's going to proceed independent and parallel anything you as the Attorney General of New York are doing. It's a certified class action lawsuit. But the kinds of abuses that are identified here are precisely the kinds of things you have sued Bank of America over for violation of a previous settlement with you and other State Attorneys general over the same kind of practices. My question is, if we keep finding the same kind of practices, what is going to make them stop?
Goldstein: And does it make you regret signing on to the settlement in the first place if we keep seeing malfeasance at this level?
Schneiderman: It's easier, I mean, look, we have a much easier burden of proof because they've agreed to the timelines and deadlines in the settlement. We knew they were stringing people along, claiming they lost documents. We don't have to prove fraud which the folks in the Massachusetts case will have prove. So we have more tools in the toolbox as a result of the settlement. But everything we're seeing, again, I don't know the underlying facts of the case. everything we've seen is consistent with this. we know there was delay. We know there was unreasonable delay. We know homeowners were strung around. When I was on the show with you six weeks ago to talk about our notice to suit, you described the process as kofka-esque.
Hayes: Let's say this class gets certified. We know what's going to happen. This is like law and Economics 101. What are they going to do? They're going to settle. So maybe they pay $5 billion, maybe they pay $10 billion, $15 billion. $25 billion, $30 billion. They're massively profitable enterprises who are making lots of money off this kind of thing. What is the market doing when they see this?
Dicker: They reward them. We're at historic highs for the stock market mostly led by financials including most specifically Bank of America. Now, what has made Bank of America a leader in what has been a rising, a shooting celestial stock market over the last couple years? Has been their ability to simplify their books of all this crap that was on the books prior to 2008. Part of the reason they've been able to simplify this is because they made the human tragedy out of not allowing refinancing, pushing everything toward foreclosure, making it as simple and as least labor intensive as they possibly can. This entire pile of securitizations that have been such a big problem for them financially over the course of the last few years.
Goldstein: Federal regulators have not changed that. This is the job of the OCC which is a banking regulator. This is the job of the fed to make a profit cost for breaking the law. For pushing people into foreclosure. You said this was the foreclosure crime scene the OCC settled about legal foreclosures on veterans and folks like that. And people are getting checks in the mail for $300 bucks.
Hayes: Right.
Goldstein: And they are not changing the cost/benefit analysis.
Schneiderman: So I think the, look, it is clear that up until now they really don't fear law enforcement. And it may be that they feel they've been sent messages by some folks in the government that it's okay. You know, the message that every other company in America's allowed to feel but not you. We're not going to let you fail. It's not just not American, it's anti-capitalist. From my point of view, we've had to use everything we can do to watch these banks. Now, look, I don't want to take away from the benefits New Yorkers have gotten. We've had a plummeting rate of underwater mortgages. We've gotten over $2 billion, relief, New York homeowners, [from] the banks under this settlement. But it doesn't change the fact that they seem to have a problem of abiding by any set of rules. What we're seeking that makes a big difference is we're seeking an injunction to say, fine, you guys violate the rules, you can't foreclose. If we stop them from being able to foreclose --
Hayes: That might --
Schneiderman: that might do something.
Hayes: Thanks to my guests, Alexis Goldstein. Dan Dicker. and Eric Schneiderman. That's "All In" for today.
If ever there were
a better reason to have a Corporate "Death Penalty" -- I'm hard-pressed to think of one.
When is Too Big to Fail, ever going to become Too Big to Exist?
When are actual living people, ever going to matter more than Obscene Illegally-gotten Profits?
Just another "slap on the wrist fine" is NOT good enough -- as we can see these Parking Fine road-bumps, do very little to change the lying immoral behavior employed by the TBTF Banks, day after soul-crushing day. Only in America, are such travesties "coddled" with a wink and a nod, on a on-going routine basis, to our great shame as a country and a people-driven democracy.
When will anyone from the super wealthy class EVER be held accountable for their illegal and parasitic actions?