Bank of America stops U.S. foreclosures

(Newsyndicate): The investing giant Bank of America, located in Charlotte, NC, has halted all foreclosure procedures nationwide. It has thrown the economy into turmoil, which has been seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Bank of America is the United States' largest banking and finance firm, and plays a key role in ending the "great recession," which started in 2008. Other banks are now being pressured to follow suit.

   On Friday, Bank of America stated that they would stop foreclosures to avoid getting less and less popular with homeowners and those Bank of America has lent money to, because they are getting angry about the way Bank of America and other lenders are handling and preparing legal documents to support evictions. The halt took effect Saturday.
  In a separate statement, PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, said that they would also halt foreclosures in 23 states for a month so they could conduct an internal investigation to see if legal documents submitted to courts followed all state and federal guidelines.
  Some accuse major banking corporations of using "robo-signers," or people in a company with the power to sign off on a home foreclosure, that sign document after document, without actually reading their contents, authorizing hundreds of foreclosures daily.
  Bank of America said that "our assessment has been satisfactorily completed. Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for foreclosure decisions is accurate. We continue to serve the interests of our customers, investors and communities. Providing solutions for distressed homeowners remains our primary focus."
  Others are not so sure the assessment will be accurate or thorough. Spokesman Dan Frahm stated that the investigation would focus on the validity of signatures on official foreclosure documents.
  On Thursday, President Obama refused to give his approval to proposed legislation that would make it harder for homeowners to challenge foreclosure documents signed by large banks. The Senate Banking Committee will hold hearings in mid-November after the election, where Democrats are expected to take a drop in numbers.
  "American families should not have to worry about losing their homes to sloppy bureaucratic mismanagement or fraud," panel chairman Christopher Dodd said while announcing the hearings, scheduled for November 16. Dodd will be leaving the panel shortly.

  Ally Financial's GMAC Mortgage unit and JPMorgan Chase have also announced similar plans to stop foreclosures. On Friday, another company, Houston, TX-based Litton Loan Servicing LP, a division of Goldman Sachs Group, said it would halt some foreclosure processes in undisclosed states.
  Bank of America said that it would also look into whether or not the selling of many mortgages into one large fund was legal, but did not have any other information about their internal assessment. It is expected to be completed in a few months.
  Until then, homeowners can breathe easy.

  Sources: 
 MSNBC Business News Story