Financial relief provided to Floridians under a mortgage settlement has far exceeded what state officials expected, according to a new national report. More than 120,000 Floridians have received billions of dollars in in aid so far from five major banks.
The report shows much of the roughly $9 billion in assistance has been from lenders forgiving loans or liens to enable home sales. It’s just a piece of the landmark $25 billion settlement that came after an investigation of foreclosure abuses.
State Attorney General Pam Bondi tells the Associated Press the assistance for Floridians exceeds what she expected by $800 million. Florida was one of the states hit hardest during the foreclosure crisis and its homeowners receive one of the largest shares in the settlement with Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
The aid numbers are self-reported by the banks and have not yet been independently verified.