The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley says that Coakley has entered into an agreement with California-based WMD Capital Markets LLC that provides significant benefits to approximately 200 borrowers holding structurally unfair loans originated by Fremont Investment & Loan.
WMD Capital Markets recently purchased the Fremont-originated loans, which are subject to a preliminary injunction restricting foreclosures, issued by Suffolk Superior Court in February 2008. The attorney general's office and WMD Capital Markets reached an agreement to memorialize how Fremont-originated loans would be modified in order to avoid unnecessary foreclosures and account for Fremont's allegedly unfair and deceptive lending practices that are the subject of the attorney general's law enforcement action against California-based Fremont.
‘This agreement shows that lenders, holders and servicers are able to take aggressive steps to make predatory subprime loans affordable for borrowers,’ states Coakley. ‘While many lenders and servicers have talked about loan modifications, this agreement reflects WMD Capital's real commitment to treating Fremont borrowers fairly and our office's commitment to achieving loan modifications to help combat foreclosures.’
According to the attorney general's office, the agreement addresses both the structural unfairness of hybrid, adjustable-rate mortgage loan products offered by Fremont and Fremont's origination misconduct by providing eligible borrowers with the option of adjusting their monthly mortgage payment to an affordable amount or receiving a payment that can be used for relocation costs. Eligible borrowers will also receive significant loan credits and charge-offs of certain fees and interest payments.
Source: Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
