SACRAMENTO – Today the California Bankers Association, (CBA) released the following statement on the legislative conference committee vote on AB 278 and SB 900.

“The CBA is extremely disappointed that members of the conference committee elected to cut short good faith negotiations with our industry, despite more than two months remaining in the legislative session. We believe that had negotiations continued, we would have been able to get closer to our goal of reaching common ground.

“Our goal throughout this entire process has been to craft a distilled version of the national mortgage settlement applicable to all mortgage servicers, bank and nonbank. We agree that borrowers who request a loan modification should get an answer regarding their eligibility before they are foreclosed upon. We also agree that borrowers who may be eligible for a loan modification should have a consistent point-of-contact to keep them better informed of their status.

“However details do matter and the conference committee, in prematurely suspending negotiations, has failed to produce a workable solution with clear rules that the financial services industry can comply with. These bills, AB 278 and SB 900, lack clarity around critical definitions, leave several major issues unaddressed and fail to focus on truly injured borrowers.

“California’s banking industry will continue to advocate for reasonable solutions that provide meaningful consumer protections to help borrowers avoid foreclosure when possible, yet also permit the foreclosure process to proceed for the benefit of the overall economy, other taxpaying homeowners and the communities they live in.”

About the CBA

Established 121 years ago, the California Bankers Association (CBA) is one of the largest state banking trade associations in the country. CBA leads the way in developing relevant educational and legislative solutions to some of California’s more pressing financial and banking issues, including adult financial empowerment, identity theft, financial privacy, and financial elder abuse. CBA’s membership includes nearly 200 of California’s commercial, industrial and community banks and savings associations. For more information, visit www.calbankers.com.