Day 191 - Hillary's Hackers, Awan Brothers Saga Deepens

Published Tahira Ali Awan SSN and Manassas Mahmood's SSN 

 Might Have Found Where the Vets Work, But No Pakistani Mangoes USDA APHIS in Ames, Iowa 

 Johnny Gosch, and the Two Following Abductions in West De Moins IA 

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CONYERS Statement For Judiciary Markup Of H.R. 1667, The "Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act of 2017"

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Mr. Chairman --  As you know, I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 1677, the “Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act of 2017.”  I agreed to cosponsor this legislation for several reasons.

To begin with, H.R. 1667 addresses a real need – recognized by regulatory agencies, bankruptcy experts, and the private sector – that the bankruptcy law must be amended so that it can expeditiously restore trust in the financial marketplace after the collapse of a systemically significant financial institution.

As many recall, the failure of Lehman Brothers and subsequent bankruptcy in 2008 caused a worldwide freeze on the availability of credit. This, in turn, triggered the near collapse of our Nation’s economy and clearly revealed that current bankruptcy law is ill-equipped to deal with complex financial institutions in economic distress.

H.R. 1667 would establish a specialized form of bankruptcy relief designed to facilitate the expeditious resolution of a large, systemically significant financial institution. 

Under the bill, the debtor’s operating subsidiaries would continue to function outside of bankruptcy, while the debtor’s principal assets, such as its secured property, financial contracts, and the stock of its subsidiaries, would be transferred to a temporary “bridge company.”

The bridge company, under the guidance of a trustee, would then liquidate these assets to pay the claims of the debtor’s creditors.  The bill would also temporarily prevent parties from exercising their rights in certain qualified financial contracts.  

Each critical step of this process would be done under the supervision of a bankruptcy judge and subject to appeal. 

Another reason why I support this bill is that it appropriately recognizes the important role the Dodd-Frank Act has in the regulation of large financial institutions.   

Without doubt, the Great Recession was a direct result of the regulatory equivalent of the Wild West. 

The Dodd-Frank Act goes a long way toward reinvigorating a regulatory system that makes the financial marketplace more accountable and, hopefully, more resilient.

In particular, Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act establishes a mandatory resolution process to wind down large financial institutions, which is a critical enforcement tool for bank regulators to ensure compliance with the Act’s heightened regulatory requirements.

H.R. 1667 is an excellent complement to Dodd-Frank Act’s resolution process and will help facilitate the rapid administration of a debtor’s assets in an orderly fashion that maximizes value and minimizes disruption to the financial marketplace. 

Finally, I am pleased to note that H.R. 1667 is the product of a very collaborative, inclusive, and deliberative process, which should be the norm, not the exception when it comes to drafting legislation. 

While an excellent measure, the bill unfortunately does not include any provision allowing the federal government to be a lender of last resort, which nearly every expert recognizes is a necessary element to ensure financial stability.

I recognize, however, that this is an issue not within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. 

Accordingly, I support H.R. 1667 and I yield back the balance of my time.

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From Rep. John Conyers: Easing Homeowners’ Debt

To the Editor:

Re “Homeowners Need Help” (editorial, Aug. 22):

John Conyers, Jr.

You are right that the federal government could do much more to help homeowners climb out from underwater mortgages, and that banks have done far less than they can for homeowners seeking relief.

The key to unlocking the mortgage foreclosure crisis is the passage of a federal law allowing homeowners to reduce their mortgage debt to no more than the current value of their property.

Homeowners and the federal government have not had much leverage to get banks to stop the mortgage crisis. Current law discourages banks from voluntarily making loan adjustments that homeowners need. Giving homeowners the right to reduce their debt through recognized legal processes would no doubt provide additional incentives for lenders to work with borrowers.

This is neither a new nor a radical proposal. In 1986, Congress passed a law that allowed family farmers to modify their mortgages in response to a similar foreclosure crisis. It was so successful that in 2005, with bipartisan support, it was made permanent law. If only we could do for struggling homeowners today what we did for family farmers 25 years ago.

Last Congress, legislation that would have provided such a remedy to homeowners passed the House but died in the Senate. The bill was reintroduced, and it is my hope that Congress will take up this essential legislation soon.

JOHN CONYERS Jr.
Washington, Aug. 29, 2011

The writer is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. and Citizens Bank Regarding Alleged Lending Discrimination in Detroit

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. and Citizens Bank Regarding Alleged Lending Discrimination in Detroit

Settlement Provides $3.6 Million to Ensure Equal Lending Services to African-American Community

WASHINGTON – Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. (CRBC) and Citizens Bank of Flint, Mich., will open a loan production office in an African-American neighborhood in Detroit, invest approximately $3.6 million in Wayne County, Mich., and take other steps as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that they engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and color, the Justice Department announced today.

The settlement, which remains subject to court approval, was filed in conjunction with the Justice Department’s complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.   The complaint alleges that CRBC, as the successor to Republic Bank, and Citizens Bank violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibit financial institutions from discriminating on the basis of race and color in their mortgage lending practices.   The lawsuit alleges that Citizens Bank, and Republic Bank before it, have served the credit needs of the residents of predominantly white neighborhoods in the Detroit metropolitan area to a significantly greater extent than they have served the credit needs of majority African-American neighborhoods.   Those neighborhoods are easily recognized because t he Detroit metropolitan area has long had highly-segregated residential housing patterns, especially for African-Americans.  

“Discrimination in the provision of lending services based on race deprives communities of access to credit and leaves the residents of minority neighborhoods vulnerable to predatory lenders.   This type of discrimination is part of the web of intolerable practices that stripped vast amounts of wealth from communities of color in the last decade,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “We are pleased that Citizens Bank will partner with the Detroit community to invest in an area that was long neglected, particularly by the former Republic Bank.”

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade added:   “Today’s settlement will bring badly needed resources to Detroit and surrounding areas in Wayne County to assist in neighborhood stabilization.   It will also broaden opportunities for home ownership for families who have been unlawfully denied credit.  We applaud the bank’s cooperation and commitment to community development.”

“Racial or other illegal discrimination has no place in our credit markets,” said Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin.   “We are pleased that this settlement is designed to increase fair access to credit.”

Under the settlement, CRBC and Citizens Bank will invest $1.625 million in a partnership with the city of Detroit to aid in neighborhood stabilization by providing existing homeowners with matching grants of up to $5,000 to fund exterior improvements, $1.5 million in a special financing program to increase the amount of credit the banks extend to majority African-American areas in Wayne County, and spend $500,000 for outreach to potential customers, promotion of their products and services, and consumer financial education.   Citizens Bank also will open a loan production office in a majority African-American area in Detroit and conduct fair lending training for its employees.  The agreement also prohibits CRBC and Citizens Bank from discriminating on the basis of race or color in any aspect of a residential real estate-related or credit transaction.  

The lawsuit originated from a 2010 referral by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  Citizens Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve System.  

The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.   President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.   The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.   The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.   For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov .

A copy of the complaint, as well as additional information about fair lending enforcement by the Justice Department, can be obtained from the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/fairhousing .

Reps. Conyers, Gutierrez, Capuano and Sens. Franken, Menendez Release GAO Report Investigating Foreclosure “Robo-signing”

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Contacts: Nicole Triplett, 202-226-5543                                                                                                        Date: Thursday, May 5, 2011                   

Ed Shelleby (Franken) (202)-224-1868

Menendez Press Office (202) 224-4744

Nicole Triplett (Conyers) (202) 226-5543

Douglas Rivlin (Gutierrez): (202) 225-8203

Alison Mills (Capuano) (617) 621-6208

                                                                                                                        

Reps. Conyers, Gutierrez, Capuano and Sens. Franken, Menendez Release GAO Report Investigating Foreclosure “Robo-signing”

Legislators Push for Nat’l Standards to Avoid Unfair Treatment and Wrongful Foreclosure on Homeowners

(Washington)—Today, Reps. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Mike Capuano (D-Mass.) and Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) released a GAO report confirming reports that mortgage servicers had been fraudulently signing or notarizing affidavits allowing the completion of foreclosures without any personal knowledge of the cases, a process more commonly referred to as "robo-signing." 

The legislators commissioned the report, entitled Mortgage Foreclosures: Documentation Problems Reveal Need for Ongoing Regulatory Oversight, to investigate news accounts that homeowners were being improperly foreclosed on.  In an effort to prevent future wrongdoings by mortgage servicers, the legislators today pressed banking regulators to implement safeguards recommended by the report that would ensure homeowners do not wrongfully lose their homes.

“We write today to urge you to develop a coordinated plan to ensure comprehensive oversight of federally regulated mortgage servicers and to reiterate our calls for national servicing standards that specifically address the foreclosure process,” the legislators wrote in a letter to banking regulators. “We have seen countless examples of servicers giving borrowers the run-around and continuing the foreclosure process when a loan modification has already been obtained.  Perhaps the most egregious cases of servicer wrongdoing have been violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by wrongly foreclosing on active-duty servicemembers.  Correcting these problems and ensuring they do not reoccur should be a priority for all of your agencies."

The GAO report concluded that:

• Despite various federal agencies’ having the authority to oversee mortgage servicers, past oversight of mortgage servicers’ foreclosure activities has been limited and fragmented;
• It remains unclear how regulators and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will share the responsibility of overseeing servicers, continuing the potential for poor and inconsistent oversight; and
• National standards for mortgage servicers that address expectations for the foreclosure process could improve the ways servicers do business.

GAO recommends that banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

·         Develop plans for overseeing mortgage servicers; and

·         Include foreclosure practices in any servicing standards that are developed.

The letter from the legislators to Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; John G. Walsh, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; Sheila C. Bair, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; John E. Bowman, Acting Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, and Elizabeth Warren, Special Advisor for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be read here.

GAO Letter Banking Regulators

GAO Mortgage Foreclosure Report