As part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) nationwide effort to review the foreclosure practices of the five largest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) servicers (Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, CitiMortgage, Ally Financial, Incorporated, and JPMorgan Chase Bank), we reviewed JPMorgan Chase Bank’s (Chase) foreclosure and claims processes. In addition to this memorandum, OIG issued separate memorandums for each of the other four reviews.1 We performed these reviews due to reported allegations made in the fall of 2010 that national mortgage servicing lenders were engaged in widespread questionable foreclosure practices involving the use of foreclosure “mills” and a practice known as “robosigning”2 of sworn documents in thousands of foreclosures throughout the United States.

DOJ used our review and analysis in negotiating a settlement agreement with Chase. On February 9, 2012, DOJ and 49 State attorneys general announced their proposed settlement of $25 billion with Chase and the four other mortgage servicers for their reported violations of foreclosure requirements. As part of the proposed settlement agreement, each of the five servicers will pay a portion of its settlement to the United States and also must undertake certain consumer relief activities. The proposed settlement agreement described tentative credits that each mortgage servicer would receive for modifying loans, including principal reductions and refinancing, and established a monitoring committee7 and a monitor to ensure compliance with agreed-upon servicing standards and consumer relief provisions. Once the final settlement agreement has been approved by the courts, OIG will issue a separate summary report detailing each of the five servicers’ allocated share of payment due as a result of the settlement agreement.