Federal Reserve Board Fined Citigroup For Mishandling Residential Mortgages

The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) announced on Friday that it had fined Citigroup $8.6 million for the "improper execution of residential mortgage-related documents" in a subsidiary. The announcement explained:

"The $8.6 million penalty addresses the deficient execution and notarization of certain mortgage-related affidavits prepared by a subsidiary, CitiFinancial. The improper practices occurred in 2015 and were corrected. CitiFinancial exited the mortgage servicing business in 2017.

Also on Friday, the Board announced the termination of an enforcement action from 2011 against Citigroup and CitiFinancial related to residential mortgage loan servicing. The termination of this action was based on evidence of sustainable improvements."

In 2014, Citigroup paid $7 billion to settle allegations by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and several states attorneys general (AGs) that the bank mislead investors about toxic mortgage-backed securities. So, sloppy or shoddy handling of mortgage paperwork  will get a bank fined. Good. There must be consequences when consumers are abused.

Earlier this month, Wells Fargo admitted to software bugs in its systems which led to the bank accidentally foreclosing on residential homeowners it shouldn't have. 400 homeowners lost their homes. Untold consumers' credit ratings wrecked. That sounds like shabby mortgage paperwork handling, too -- definitely worth a larger fine. What do you think?