Banks have paid less than half the $5.7 billion in cash owed to troubled homeowners under nearly 30 settlements brokered by the government since 2008, delaying help to the millions of victims of discrimination and shoddy lending that epitomized the housing crisis, according to a Washington Post analysis today of government data. In 2011, Wells Fargo agreed to compensate up to 10,000 borrowers after the Federal Reserve found the bank was steering them into subprime loans even though they qualified for better mortgages. But no borrowers have received money yet. Last year, Bank of America agreed to pay some borrowers between $1,000 and $5,000 for what the Justice Department called lending discrimination. The agency said that the bank illegally asked some would-be home buyers who relied on disability income to provide a doctor’s letter verifying the severity of their ailment. But it is still unclear how many people will ultimately be paid, and there isn’t a full list of the victims. The agreements are coming under increased scrutiny from state authorities who are concerned the banks are not living up to their obligations to help homeowners. The New York attorney general recently threatened to take Bank of America and Wells Fargo to court to force the banks to comply with a large national agreement to offer struggling borrowers help.
