Another Bad Deal For Homeowners

The Obama administration keeps on fucking...that is, it keeps on fucking up the mortgage crisis. Their first plan to help homeowners underwater on their mortgages due to bank shenanigans is a colossal failure. Now we have the $26 billion mortgage plan which actually helps banks more than homeowners:

From YahooFinance:

$26B Mortgage Settlement: Good for Banks, Not So Good for Homeowners

The settlement is being hailed as the biggest multi-state settlement since the 1998 tobacco agreement. But as Henry and I note in the accompanying video, the settlement is too small to really help the housing market, or even do much for individual victims of fraud and abuse. The deal may, in fact, hurt housing by sending a message to people who've stayed current on their mortgages that irresponsible behavior is what gets rewarded in America. That, presumably, is not the intention of policymakers but the "moral hazard" fallout from the settlement. More Americans may "walk away" from uneconomic loans, which will put additional pressure on local housing markets.

Furthermore, several experts note that for all the rhetoric about punishing corporate crimes and helping victims of abuse, the banks have once again gotten away with a slap on the wrist and may end up benefiting most of all from the settlement.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the settlement will be broken down as follows:

$5 billion in cash payments, including $1.5 billion to borrowers who were wrongly or illegally foreclosed on between September 2008 and December 2011. Borrowers could receive up to $2,000, depending on the number filing claims.

$20 billion in "credits" the banks will receive for principal write-downs and other aid to homeowners at risk of default, up to $20,000 per. This tally includes $3 billion for refinancing of mortgages currently under water.

(Yes, I know 20 + 5 = 25, not 26. It's unclear what the "extra" $1 billion will be earmarked for as details are still emerging on the plan.)

Read more: Banks Win Again