The monitor in charge of the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement reminded the five participating servicers as well as the public that today marks the deadline for an important settlement component.  As of today, the banks are required to be in full compliance with the agreement's 304 servicing standards that guide their interaction with customers.

Joseph A. Smith, Jr., released the following statement.

"Today is the 180th day since the entry of the consent judgments comprising the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement. As of today, the five banks subject to the Settlement are required to operate in full compliance with its servicing standards. I will conduct careful and thorough reviews of the banks' processes to assure and verify that they are compliant with the Settlement's rules.

"While my team and I will work to review the banks' compliance ourselves, I also need to hear from consumer professionals in the marketplace who work on these issues day in and day out. I am asking these professionals to report to me when they see a mortgage servicer breaking the rules established in the Settlement.

The settlement agreement, reached on February 12 between Ally/GMAC Bank, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo and 49 state attorneys general and the federal government was the largest consumer financial protection settlement in U.S. history.  In addition to the financial settlement, the lenders are required to meet a set of servicing standards including providing borrowers with a single point of contact for resolving problems, meet appropriate standards for executing documents in foreclosure cases, ending improper fees, and ending dual-track foreclosures for many loans.

The agreement also provides state attorneys general with oversight of national banks wherein the bans are required to regularly report compliance to the outside monitor and pay heavy penalties for non-compliance with the settlement, including missed deadlines.

Consumer professionals can report any incidents of non-compliance at www.mortgageoversight.com/forms.