Some of the nation's largest banks, including Wells Fargo & Co., suspended foreclosure sales in a number of states following guidance issued last month by federal banking regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. While some foreclosures have since resumed, the halt marks the latest dustup over how foreclosures are handled. Banks said that their actions were triggered by a four-page bulletin issued last month by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve. The bulletin outlined basic operating standards for foreclosure sales. Many of the nation's largest banks were already operating under consent orders with the OCC or the Fed in response to foreclosure-processing abuses that surfaced in late 2010. Officials at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said that they had postponed scheduled foreclosures earlier this month in response to the latest guidance. JPMorgan said that it has since resumed foreclosures.
