Published August 8, 2011

OCC Issues Supervisory Guidance on Foreclosure Practices, Will Review National Banks

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued Bulletin 2011-29, Foreclosure Management: Supervisory Guidance (Bulletin) to all national banks regarding foreclosure management practices. The purpose of the Bulletin is to communicate the OCC s expectations for the oversight and management of mortgage foreclosure activities by national banks. Included in the Bulletin is a directive requiring all national banks that have not already done so to conduct self-assessments of their foreclosure management practices to determine whether their practices conform to the OCC s expectations.

The Bulletin was preceded by the April 2011 issuance of the Interagency Review of Foreclosure Policies and Practices (Review). The Review, which included on-site reviews of the foreclosure processing practices at 14 federally regulated mortgage servicers, was conducted jointly by the OCC, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of Thrift Supervision (Agencies). As part of the Review, the Agencies summarized their findings which included critical weaknesses in the following areas:

* foreclosure process governance
* organizational structure and availability of staffing
* affidavit and notarization practices
* documentation practices
* third-party vendor management, and
* quality control and audit.

In the Bulletin, the OCC suggests that the results of the Review raise concerns that similar weaknesses may exist in other servicing operations.

To view the Interagency Review of Foreclosure Policies and Practices, please click here.

If you have questions on performing a foreclosure practices self-assessment, please contact the experts listed below at (800) 270-9629.
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