U.S. mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. -- under investigation for inflating certain borrowers’ fees -- told a Senate panel on Tuesday it has made errors and pledged to take steps to improve its operations.
Steve Bailey, chief executive for loan administration at Countrywide, admitted the company's employees have made mistakes "from time to time." He said the company will hire an outside auditor to review its actions in cases involving homeowners who have filed for bankruptcy court protection.
But he disputed accusations of hundreds of borrowers in Pennsylvania, Florida and other states, that the company has sought to collect inflated fees and other payments by filing inaccurate bankruptcy documents. The Justice Department is currently investigating the accusations.
"Servicers have also been accused of intentionally assessing inappropriate fees and costs to borrowers in bankruptcy," Bailey said. "With respect to Countrywide, these allegations are simply not true."
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the panel, criticized what he called a broader "vulture mentality" in the mortgage lending industry.
"Companies have repeatedly sought to foreclose on homes where owners were current on payments, sought attorneys fees in bankruptcy court for motions that they have lost, and failed to keep even the most basic records to justify their claims in bankruptcy court," he said.
Schumer also said that Bank of America Corp., which agreed to buy Countrywide in January for approximately 4 billion U.S. dollars, should reconsider the deal's price tag.
If the purchase price for Countrywide was "based in part on profits from these bad practices, Bank of America should demand a lower price, because these practices will not be allowed to continue," he said.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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