bank of america Deal unlikely to help many

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Bank of America’s record $16.65 billion settlement for its role in selling shoddy mortgage bonds — $7 billion of it geared for consumer relief — offers a glint of hope for desperate homeowners.

The settlement requires the second-largest U.S. bank to reduce some homeowners’ loan balances, provide new loans to low-income buyers and address areas of neighborhood blight.

But consumer advocates say relatively few people will be helped relative to the devastation triggered by the mortgage bonds, which fueled the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and threw millions of homes into foreclosure.

Only a fraction of homeowners would be eligible for refinancing under the settlement. And the process by which people would qualify and receive aid could drag on for years, with payouts set to be completed as late as 2018.

Those who already have lost homes to a foreclosure or a short sale — when a lender accepts less money from a sale than what the borrower owes — likely wouldn’t benefit at all.

“It is certainly better than nothing,” said Bruce Marks, chief executive of the nonprofit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. “But for the millions who lost their homes, it reinforces the appearance that the government has not been on their side.”

The Bank of America settlement will include the appointment of an independent monitor to review the consumer relief.