5 Claims The Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement Does Not Settle

The $25 billion mortgage foreclosure settlement resolves certain violations of civil law based on mortgage loan servicing activities.  But it does not resolve everything. In particular: 

·                     The agreement does not prevent state and federal authorities from pursuing criminal enforcement actions related to this or other conduct by the servicers. 
·                     The agreement does not prevent the government from punishing wrongful securitization conduct that will be the focus of the new Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group. 
·                     The United States also retains its full authority to recover losses and penalties caused to the federal government when a bank failed to satisfy underwriting standards on a government-insured or government-guaranteed loan. 
·                     The agreement does not prevent any action by individual borrowers who wish to bring their own lawsuits. 
·                     State attorneys general also preserved, among other things, all claims against the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), and all claims brought by borrowers.