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JPMorgan Ousts Mortgage Chief Lowman

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Cooler By A Mile

As reported today on Bloomberg.com:

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the second-largest U.S. bank, ousted mortgage chief David Lowman after it overcharged active-duty military personnel on loans and improperly foreclosed on other borrowers.

“Dave Lowman and I have decided he will leave the firm,”Frank Bisignano, the head of home-lending, said today in an internal employee memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

JPMorgan has been taking steps this year to repair its mortgage unit, which posted at least $3.3 billion in losses during the first quarter. Lowman, 54, who ran home-lending since leaving Citigroup Inc. (C) in 2006, was directed in February to start reporting to Chief Administrative Officer Bisignano, 51. The New York-based bank then hired Cindy Armine, Citigroup’s chief compliance officer, last month to increase oversight as chief control officer of home-lending.

“We thank Dave for his five years of service to our firm,” Bisignano said in the memo. “He worked here during extraordinary times and has said he will take some much needed time off.”  A message left at Lowman’s office wasn’t immediately returned.

High Losses

Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, 55, said JPMorgan’s record $5.6 billion in profit during the first quarter was tempered by “extraordinarily high losses we still are bearing on mortgage-related issues.”

“Unfortunately, these losses will continue for a while,”Dimon said in a statement on April 13 when the bank reported results. JPMorgan’s performance has been hampered by poor performing mortgage portfolios acquired when it bought Washington Mutual Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. in 2008.

In April, JPMorgan agreed to pay $56 million and to reduce mortgage rates for all deployed soldiers to settle claims that it overcharged military personnel on their mortgages and seized homes of 27 active-duty military personnel who were protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Dimon said the military foreclosures were the worst mistake the bank has ever made.

“We deeply apologize to the military, the veterans, anyone who’s ever served this country and we’re trying to go way beyond” what is needed to correct the errors, he said at the company’s May 17 annual shareholder meeting. “We’re sorry.”

________________________________________________________________

That should probably read: “We’re sorry we got caught and we had to sacrifice someone – so long Mr. David Lowman.”

Filed under: Chase, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

JPMorgan Names New Head for Mortgage Business

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Cooler By A Mile

Read the latest propaganda from Chase…Lowman demoted; Jamie Dimon’s righthand man is Frank Bisignano, now heading up Chase Home Lending…

Hoping to troubleshoot some of the problems plaguing its mortgage operations, Jamie Dimon dispatched one of his top lieutenants to oversee the Chase Home Lending business.

Frank Bisignano, JPMorgan Chase’s chief administrative officer, will now add supervision of the Chase mortgage origination and loan payment collection businesses to his other duties, which include managing technology and real estate for the bank. David Lowman, the current head of Chase Home Lending, will retain his title but report to Mr. Bisignano.

The management change comes as Chase’s mortgage business has faced considerable challenges as a result of the recession. Chase, like most of its peers, has faced enormous losses on its large portfolio of home equity and mortgage loans after loosening its lending standards during the housing boom. But it has also struggled to digest the mortgage operations that it acquired with its takeovers of Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns during the financial crisis.

Many parts of the business ran on separate technology systems, making a three-way integration especially tricky. At the same time, Chase has come under fire from Washington for failing to cope with a giant wave of foreclosures as well as overcharging several thousand military veterans.

“The mortgage business for everybody has changed tremendously,” Mr. Bisignano said in a brief interview on Friday. “Adding help to it can never be a bad idea.”

Charles W. Scharf, the head of Chase Retail Financial Services, and Mr. Lowman have had their hands full contending with all of these issues over the last few years. They have significantly tightened the bank’s lending standards, halted the sale of new mortgages through independent brokers and overhauled the bank’s servicing operations. They have also hired thousands of employees and improved technology to try to keep up with the foreclosure mess.

In 2010, Chase also began cordoning off its existing portfolio of real estate loans from those that conformed to its tougher new standards, a so-called good bank/bad bank strategy that has been used frequently by financial institutions to restructure their operations.

But with Mr. Bisignano, Mr. Dimon is installing one of his strongest managers with a long history of overseeing the operations of several banks. He also comes from a family of veterans, which will be crucial to smoothing relations with lawmakers, regulators and military leaders.

Mr. Bisignano, a trusted lieutenant of Mr. Dimon, followed him to JPMorgan Chase in 2005 as his chief administrative officer. Mr. Bisignano was charged with consolidating the bank’s real estate and identifying other cost-saving measures.

At Citigroup, Mr. Bisignano ran its global transaction services business and helped oversee technology and operations for its investment bank. Mr. Bisignano, 51, will report to both Mr. Dimon and Mr. Scharf.

Here is the email from Mr. Dimon and Mr. Scharf:

As you know, our Home Lending business has gone through a period of enormous challenge and change. Our team has worked day and night for almost three years to deal with the unprecedented credit environment and the added complexity from the WaMu and legacy Bear Stearns EMC merger integrations.

We recognize how much we’ve accomplished, but know we still have a great deal of work ahead of us. Given the importance of this business to our company and our customers, we’ve asked Frank Bisignano, our Chief Administrative Officer, to take on additional responsibilities and get more directly involved in managing this business. Effective immediately, Dave Lowman, CEO of Home Lending, and his team will report to Frank.

Frank will continue to report to Jamie as CAO and will report to Charlie on Home Lending, which will remain part of Retail Financial Services. He continues on the firm’s Operating Committee and Executive Committee, and joins the RFS Management team.

Frank is a great partner to all of us and an extraordinary operating executive. He is an integral part of all six of our lines of business, and we are thrilled to be able to leverage his leadership and experience more directly in Home Lending.

We have a leading Home Lending business. Chase is the third-largest mortgage lender and the #3 mortgage servicer in the country. We have 8 million customers who are living in a home with a Chase mortgage. When customers have difficulties, we do everything we can to help them find a way to avoid foreclosure. We have offered more than 1 million modifications and prevented foreclosure for more than 480,000 customers. We recently announced that we are opening another 25 Chase Homeownership Centers, bringing our total to 76 in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

We look forward to working with Frank to make our Home Lending business even stronger.

________________________________________________________________________________ 

I think they mean to say they look forward  to continuing the bankster shell game of preying upon legions of beleaguered homeowners who just want to work out a payment plan with their lender in order to remain in their homes; the shell game being the charade of pretending to help with no intention of actually providing any help at all.

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

The Wall Street Journal seeks clarification on Chase Loan Modification Answers

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

May 14, 2020: Two days elapsed before Chase came back to the Wall Street Journal reporter with a revised comment on my situation. In the face of the evidence I provided, Chase had little choice but to modify their intentionally misleading answer.

Per the reporter:

“Below is Chase’s latest statement re your loan. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks. 

Chase: We modified the homeowners’ mortgage in 2008, reducing the interest rate to 6% and locking in until 2013.  The homeowner applied for another modification in 2009.  

In the summer of 2009, in March of 2010, and in May of 2010, we notified the homeowner that she did not qualify for a second modification.  We determined that modifying the loan would produce less value to the loan’s owner than foreclosing, using analysis based on the Treasury’s model.  There also a question about whether it was her primary residence.”

My hair was on fire over this misleading representation of how I’d been strung along and flat-out lied to for over thirteen months. I wanted to run screaming to the reporter but I composed myself. The Wall Street Journal was a conservative publication and the reporter had an obligation to be objective and hear all sides. I was absolutely livid but I composed a measured response:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond. Regarding the statement: We modified the homeowners’ mortgage in 2008, reducing the interest rate to 6% and locking in until 2013. The Loan originated as a sub-prime pick & pay with Washington Mutual on 2/26/06. Over the next eighteen months I received countless marketing solicitations offering to “modify” my loan to a fixed rate; they all seemed to focus on me paying WaMu some lump sum in order to “fix” my interest rate.

By mid to late 2007 I actually understood my loan and the concept of “negative amortization”. I started paying the full mortgage amount each month (the principal and interest) and even made some headway on reducing the negative amortization. Once I focused on the mortgage it was evident that when the loan adjusted, the interest rate was going to jump and the full amount would increase exponentially.

The Washington Mutual solicitations continued and with each “offer” the lump sum amount to “fix” the interest rate kept dropping. By January 2008 I could see that interest rates were going up and I feared the interest rate reset. In February 2008 I folded and paid Washington Mutual $995.00 for the privilege of locking into a 5/1 LIBOR Interest Only ARM at 6.62%.

To call this streamline refinance which I paid for the privilege of getting a “modification” is disingenuous at best; my “mortgage modification” consisted of nothing more than a five-year fixed rate interest only loan with a new higher (not lower) payment. The interest rate was not reduced, indeed, it increased.

Regarding the statement: The homeowner applied for another modification in 2009. This is correct; I initiated a modification request on 2/24/09 and was denied on 8/25/09 because: “Your property equity exceeds our program guidelines.”

Regarding the statement: In the summer of 2009, in March of 2010, and in May of 2010, we notified the homeowner that she did not qualify for a second modification. We determined that modifying the loan would produce less value to the loan’s owner than foreclosing, using analysis based on the Treasury’s model. I stand by my original comments: That is not correct. I have two written letters from Chase, which I have shared with you.

To reiterate: The first denial, dated August 25, 2009, states in one sentence: “Your property equity exceeds our program guidelines.” There is no reference to the Treasury’s model as a reason for denial; nor is there reference to a residency issue. The way Chase has worded this new response is disingenuous at best.  

The second written communication dated March 5, 2010 states “We are unable to offer you a Home Affordable Modification because we are unable to verify that you do live in the property as your primary residence”. There is no reference to the Treasury’s model as a reason for denial; regarding the residency issue, Chase has three years of Federal Income tax returns at the address (I can provide five years worth) & five years of voting records. Chase confirmed my residency was not an issue and reopened the case (which is why they kept working on it and allegedly generated another denial in May 2010).

Regarding: the May 2010 denial Chase references. As previously noted, I have received no written communication of this and know only from a call I placed yesterday (5/13/10) that, per Rafael in Loss Mitigation at Chase, the modification was denied on 5/4/10. It is again disingenuous at best to state Chase notified the homeowner, as, without your intercession, I would STILL have no knowledge of this denial; I waited again for the mailman today before responding and there is nothing from Chase.

Regarding the statement: We determined that modifying the loan would produce less value to the loan’s owner than foreclosing, using analysis based on the Treasury’s model. This has not been communicated to the homeowner in writing at any time. I am aware of this ONLY through your email asking for a comment on Chase’s initial response and subsequently through the above referenced Springboard conference call of 5/13/10. Also, I am not certain but I believe the Treasury’s model applies to HAMP modifications, and was we know, I have never qualified for a HAMP modification.  

Finally, I stand by my statement submitted 5/14/10: The opaque banking procedures practiced by Chase do not help the homeowner, they help only the investors. 

If I knew back in February 2009, or even August 2009, what I know today — that the investors behind my loan find it more profitable to foreclose (negative net present value) than to work with me on a modification — I could have made an informed decision. I would have taken the hit and drained my IRA to bring the loan down to a smaller amount and refinanced while my credit record was excellent. At this point, my savings are depleted and my credit record is distressed; even if I reduce the loan amount, no lender will refinance.

 

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Who owns my Chase home mortgage loan?

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

May 12, 2010: The whole mortgage-backed security issue has been sticking in my craw, underlined by the fact that Washington Mutual had taken advantage of me not once but twice. First when they lured me into a Pick & Pay loan which exposed me to negative amortization, and then when I’d realized what a bad loan it was and wanted to dig out, they “modified” my loan with an equally unfavorable streamlined refinance. I wanted to review each and every document in this predatory mess, but I wasn’t exactly sure where to start. 

I went to the RESPA site http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/ramh/res/respa_hm.cfm and read everything I could find before placing a call to Customer Service. My questions were surrounding the fact that my loan was not Freddie Mae or Fannie Mac backed; did the RESPA rules apply? The rep didn’t know but she told me to call RESPA at (202)708-0502 in Washington, DC and ask an expert. I called and left a voice mail and a while later Angela Collier (202) 402-6135 returned my call. She was extremely helpful and directed me back to the site to walk me through how to submit a “qualified written request” and showed me the sample letter http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/ramh/res/reslettr.cfm  format I needed to follow. Ms. Collier suggested I copy her when I sent the letter and that I consider copying my state Attorney General’s office as well as the state FTC. She knew her stuff.

She listened to my concerns and told me exactly what documents I should ask for, especially when I told her I was convinced the loan had been sliced and sold off as a mortgage-backed security. I shared my suspicions that perhaps this was why I was could not get loan modification answers from Chase. Ms. Collier said that Chase would have twenty (20) business days to respond and I should call her to follow-up. I said if Chase responded in twenty business days it would be a first! They hadn’t responded to my OCC complaint which was over 60 days old, nor had they responded to my letter to David Lowman Chase Home Lending CEO.

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

WaMu Chase Contact Information

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

Washington Mutual home loan customers are “serviced” by Chase. In late September 2008, the FDIC sold Washington Mutual’s assets, secured debt obligations and deposits to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Home loans which originated with Washington Mutual and are in default end up with Chase Home Finance in California; it is possible (unverified) that all Washington Mutual originated loans are handled in California by Chase Home Finance. Following is a list of key Washington Mutual Chase contacts with phone numbers and/or web addresses when available:

Chase Home Finance (generic): (800) 848-9380 [This number handles home loans (in default) originated by Washington Mutual]

Chase Home Finance (Direct fax): (904) 462-1926

Chase Loss Mitigation: (866) 316-9218

Chase Loss Mitigation Alternate Numbers: (866) 349-3540; (800) 446-8939

Chase Customer Service (generic): (866) 550-5705

Chase general fax (generic): (866) 282-5682

You cannot do it alone. Get a HUD-approved counselor to negotiate on your behalf. They are FREE. Go to Springboard (800) 431-8456 for Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management or visit: www.credit.org

Click on http://www.credit.org/housing/loan-modification-program and get started. Chase says they want to help but they are giving lip service only to the American people. Your tax dollars have paid for HUD-approved counseling, use it!

Why use a counselor? Because when you fill out the forms, Chase is running your numbers up against a “black box” formula only they know. Your counselor can at least tell you when your numbers are way out of line and exceed national averages. You need to use every tool in your arsenal to fight the Chase machine and get a loan modification.

You will need to submit a third-party authorization form to allow a counselor to speak on your behalf with Chase. Request the form from both Chase and see if your own HUD-approved counselor has a form. Submit both immediately so Chase can’t stall.

HAMP & $729,750…this is the dollar cap on loan balances which can be modified by HAMP, but the number is misleading. A dollar cap is assigned to each county in the nation. For example, in Cape May County, NJ, the HAMP cap is $487,500. Because my loan balance is greater than $487,500, (and also happens to be greater than $729, 750) I do not qualify for a HAMP modification. I qualify only for a CHAMP (Chase in-house program) modification. Save time and aggravation and learn your county HAMP cap to determine if you even qualify for a HAMP modification!

Chase Homeowner’s Information Packet: https://www.chase.com/ccpmweb/chf/document/Borrowers_Assistance_Form_Chase_Fill_2009.pdf  

Chase Home Ownership Centers (allegedly they will help you submit & follow-up on modification paperwork): https://www.chase.com/chf/mortgage/hrm_centers

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Wall Street Journal seeks answers from Chase

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

May 10, 2010: I went back and forth by e-mail throughout the day with the Wall Street Journal reporter, answering questions about my financial situation, why I was still waiting, why I hadn’t just sold my house, etc. At the end of the day the reporter told me he’d just asked Chase why I hadn’t gotten an answer after almost 15 months. I was stunned.

Would it take the Wall Street Journal to get an answer from Chase about my loan modification? That was crazy! Why couldn’t regular people get straight answers from Chase?

It seemed to me that Chase was continuing the deceptive practices originated by Washington Mutual. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed to crack down on shoddy practices…maybe I should write him a letter as well.

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Chase Home Lending sends an email…what does it mean?

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

April 30, 2010, 11:11 am: I received this e-mail from Olga Danilova:

Hello Ms. Wright,

We are unable to provide you with a modification at this time. We will be sending your [sic] our detailed response in a letter. 

Thank you 

Olga Danilova

Chase Home Lending

Home Lending Executive Office

Phone: (614) 422-2260

Toll Free: (888) 310-7995 ext. 2260

Fax: (866) 480-1239

I decided there was not much else I could do until I either received a real letter in the mail from Chase or heard back from Natalia Carrillo, especially if Olga was going to be out of the country for two weeks. Either way, this made no sense. Why had I done the Financial Interview on April 29, 2010 if my modification had been denied on April 28, 2010? Was Chase playing games, stringing me along and pretending to offer this struggling homeowner help when all they really wanted to do was drain my last dollar in savings and then take my home? It felt that way, especially after being denied a modification because I had three months cash reserves on hand. Three months was a nano-second in the life of this mortgage.

Was Chase continuing the predatory lending practices established by Washington Mutual, masquerading as a friend of the family while they fleeced you…I sure hoped not.

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Chasing the Underwriters at Chase Home Lending

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

I’m curious about “Underwriting”; it seemed to be a Bermuda Triangle at Chase, yet another example of their opaque banking procedures, but it could also be the one place to get a straight answer from Chase. Underwriting might be the black box where decisions were actually made. Here is the history of my loan modification with Chase:

  1. December 30, 2009: I was told my loan was “in Underwriting” as of 12/15/09
  2. January 20, 2010: I was again told my loan was “in Underwriting” as of 12/15/09
  3. February 23, 2010: I was told my loan was “with the Underwriter”
  4. April 5, 2010: I was told my loan was “sent to the Underwriter” on 3/1/10”
  5. April 12, 2010: I was told my loan was “with the Underwriter”

As of April 28, 2010, Natalia Carrillo Chase Home Finance (800) 848-9380 informed me my loan was not going to Underwriting until and unless a new Profit &Loss statement was submitted and a financial interview conducted.

Was my loan EVER in Underwriting (perhaps in a parallel universe)? Was Chase just like Washington Mutual – had Chase been lying to me since December 15, 2009?

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

The paper chase for a Chase home loan modification

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

April 28, 2010, 12:00 pm: I faxed a 60-page document to the (866) 282-5682 number on the Chase Homeowner’s Information Packet as Natalia Carrillo asked. I truly can’t imagine how anyone could address the paperwork requested by Chase without access to an office or a free copy and fax machine. I certainly can’t imagine anyone with a restaurant, retail or assembly-line job, or any position where their time is monitored or they are required to be at a work station, completing, copying, submitting and tracking the documents Chase requires. Looking back, I realize I have sent the following large packets to Chase, not to mention “incidentals” (faxes and copies I’d not really kept count of):

  1. February 18, 2009: 34-pages by Certified Mail (initial modification application)

  2. March 13, 2009: 34-pages by fax (replacement for lost copy of 2/18/09 modification application)

  3. May 23, 2009: 53-pages by fax (re-submission of 2/18/10 modification application with updated content per  Washington Mutual request)

  4. December 11, 2009: 46-pages by Certified Mail (new submission of Chase loan modification application)

  5. December 11, 2009: 46-pages by fax (copy of above, sent via fax as a back-up)

  6. March 16, 2009: 19-pages by fax (updated statements requested by Chase)

  7. April 28, 2009: 60-pages by Certified Mail (complete re-submission requested by Chase)

  8. April 28, 2009: 60-pages by fax (copy of above, sent via fax as a back-up)

Each set of documents must be copied so I have something for my records, and while the Chase fax number is toll-free, the Avalon Library charges $1.00 a page to send a fax; Staples is five miles away and the nearest FedEx is 22 miles away. Copies are not free and neither are faxes.

On the flip side, Chase seemed reluctant to commit to anything on paper. It had taken me a full six months to get a copy of a letter allegedly mailed 8/25/09 with a one-sentence  denial “explanation”:  “Your property equity exceeds our program guidelines.” The second letter from Chase, sent March 5, 2010, merely said: “We are unable to offer you a Home Affordable Modification because we are unable to verify that you do live in the property as your primary residence”. This was especially maddening – due to my loan size, I only qualified for a Chase in-house program; the Home Affordable Modification had never been available to me. Residency was quickly established with the March 16, 2010 fax of voting records & tax returns and the modification re-opened, but no more letters came from Chase…

As a single woman with no children and a job that offers somewhat flexible working hours, I find the paperwork  daunting. How could anyone with a family and a conventional job be expected to jump through these hoops? While the size of my loan and the fact that I still have a job, albeit at half my original salary, may not engender sympathy, the obstacles are the same regardless of loan size. Who has the time, the facilities and the ability to chase a loan modification? Especially when they are holding down one, two or even three jobs and scrambling to make ends meet, or actively seeking work?

Why is it so hard so obtain clarity and get straight answers on the loan modification process, and why are all the “qualifications” and the “formulas” a big secret?  Borrower’s Assistance at Chase is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, an elaborate masquerade designed to deceive the media, the government and the American people.

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , | 10 Comments »

Chase Home Lending – fourteen months in a bad relationship

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

April 24, 2010, 10:59 am: Phoned Olga Danilova at JP Morgan Chase Home Lending Executive Office; her voice mail announced I had 24 seconds to leave a message – I tried my best but didn’t think it went through. I called back immediately to leave another voice mail; her mailbox was full and no longer accepting messages.

Another anniversary – fourteen months to the day since I’d first sought a loan modification from Washington Mutual, now Chase. A full two years since my salary was reduced by 50%. I’d marked it by again approaching my employers for some type of salary increase, offering to pick up additional responsibilities or provide more services but all proposals were declined. My anniversary presents: drained bank accounts, damaged credit scores and no loan modification answers from Chase.

Filed under: Chase, Home Loan Modification, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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