Banks, Congress to Face Off on Foreclosures

Banks will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday to explain sloppy mortgage paperwork, but observers aren’t expecting much Congressional harmony on the topic. Senators are likely to press lenders on the question of whether “robosigners” are evidence that modifying loans is better than eviction.

On the House side where lenders are expected to appear before the Financial Services Committee on Thursday, U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, an Alabama Republican and next year’s front-runner for chair of the panel, has criticized federal regulators instead of bankers. “It is disappointing that the regulators didn’t catch this before the media,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Outsiders see only gridlock. “I have no hopes for this Congress whatsoever,” said John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Source: Reuters News, Dave Clarke and Joe Rauch (11/15/2010)