The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency terminated mortgage servicing-related consent orders against JPMorgan Chase and EverBank because it determined that the institutions now comply with the orders.
The OCC also assessed a $48 million civil money penalty against JPMorgan and a $1 million civil money penalty against EverBank.
As a result of the termination, the two banks no longer have business restrictions that were mandated back in June 2015.
“Doing what’s right for our customers has always been our top priority. Our mortgage employees have worked very hard over the last several years to make changes that will further enhance the customer experience and we’re pleased by the outcome of the OCC’s assessment of our work,” said Elizabeth Seymour, a spokesperson for JPMorgan.
The OCC in June slapped Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, EverBank and three other banks with restrictions on each bank’s mortgage servicing operations due to their failure to comply with requirements of the Independent Foreclosure Review.
The OCC found that JPMorgan violated the 2011 consent order from Oct. 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.
The OCC additionally found that, between Dec. 1, 2011, and Nov. 19, 2013, JPMorgan engaged in filing practices in bankruptcy courts with respect to payment change notices that did not comply with bankruptcy rules and constituted unsafe or unsound banking practices.
Meanwhile, the OCC found that EverBank violated the 2011 consent order by improperly charging fees related to mortgage electronic registration system assignments, property inspections, and late fees to approximately 47,000 borrowers.
The OCC said the improper fees occurred between Jan. 2011 and March 2015 and were outside the scope of the Independent Foreclosure Review and the 2013 IFR Payment Agreement. EverBank has begun making $1.6 million in remediation payments to affected borrowers.
According to the OCC, the six banks were restricted from:
- Acquisition of residential mortgage servicing or residential mortgage servicing rights (does not apply to servicing associated with new originations or refinancings by the banks or contracts for new originations by the banks).
- New contracts for the bank to perform residential mortgage servicing for other parties.
- Outsourcing or sub-servicing of new residential mortgage servicing activities to other parties.
- Off-shoring new residential mortgage servicing activities; and
- New appointments of senior officers responsible for residential mortgage servicing or residential mortgage servicing risk management and compliance.
JPMorgan Chase and EverBank are the latest two banks to join the list of OCC-regulated institutions that have met the requirements of their mortgage servicing-related enforcement actions and have had their orders terminated.
OneWest (July 21, 2015), Bank of America (June 15, 2015), Citibank (June 15, 2015) and PNC (June 15, 2015) are the other institutions on the list.
Not all banks are in the clear though.
OCC-regulated institutions still operating under business restrictions imposed by mortgage servicing-related enforcement actions include: HSBC Bank, Santander Bank, U.S. Bank National Association and Wells Fargo.
Aurora Bank and MetLife Bank were previously covered by OCC mortgage servicing-related enforcement actions but have ceased operating as federally chartered (OCC-regulated entities) and no longer service mortgages.
Everbank declined to comment on the report.
