TESTIMONY OF
JOHN WALSH
ACTING COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITY
of the
COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 2010
Statement

Introduction

Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member Capito, and members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss recently reported improprieties in the foreclosure processes used by several large mortgage servicers and actions that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is taking to address these issues where they involve national banks. The occurrences of improperly executed documents and attestations raise concerns about the overall integrity of the foreclosure process and whether foreclosures may be inappropriately taking homes from their owners. These are serious matters that warrant the thorough investigation that is now underway by the OCC, other federal bank regulators, and other agencies.

<SNIP>

A key objective of theMERS examination is to assess MERS corporate governance, control systems,
and accuracy and timeliness of information maintained in the MERS system. Examiners assigned to MERS
will also visit on-site foreclosure examinations in process at the largest mortgage servicers to
determine how servicers are fulfilling their roles and responsibilities relative to MERS.

We are also participating in an examination being led by the FRB of Lender
Processing Services, Inc., which provides third-party foreclosure services to banks.
We expect to have most of our on-site examination work completed by mid to late
December. We then plan to aggregate and analyze the data and information from each of
these examinations to determine whether or what additional supervisory and regulatory
actions may be needed. We are targeting to have our analysis completed by the end of
January.

We recognize that the problems associated with foreclosure processes and
documentation have raised broader questions about the potential effect on the mortgage
market in general and the financial impact on individual institutions that may result from
litigation or other actions by borrowers and investors.

Continue below…

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US Regulators Examining Two Mortgage Processing Firms

By Alan Zibel, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Federal bank regulators are conducting examinations of two companies that banks use to process foreclosures, amid concerns that banks cut corners on thousands of foreclosure documents, Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said Wednesday.

Walsh, in remarks prepared for delivery Thursday, said his agency is examining Reston, Va.-based Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems in conjunction with the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

That company, known as MERS, lets lenders package and sell mortgages without recording each transaction with county property offices.

It has come under fire from critics, who say MERS doesn’t have the right to act as the legal representative of the mortgage owner in foreclosure cases.

So lets recap a few important events that happened in the past and just recently:

9/4 FL AG confident there is a great deal of fraud

“Thousands of final judgments of foreclosure against Florida homeowners may have been the result of the allegedly improper actions of these law firms,” said Mr. McCollum in an interview. “We’ve had so many complaints that I am confident there is a great deal of fraud here.”

10/18 Moving Files via 18 Wheeler (Deposition of Kelly Scott)

18 A. The only concern was that they were moving files out
19 of the office into a different office and that Eighteen Inch
20 Freight, I think, was picking them up. Something like that.
21 Trailer freight, something like that.
22 Q. Do you know where –
23 MS. CLARKSON: Eighteen wheeler?
24 THE WITNESS: Yeah, eighteen wheeler.
25 BY MS. EDWARDS: 1 Q. Do you know where they were moving them?
2 A. Supposedly they were being moved to Orlando’s office.
3 Q. And do you know why they would do that?
4 A. No.
5 Q. Do you know how long ago this was going on?
6 A. I think a month and a half ago.
7 Q. What kind of office is Orlando?
8 A. David Stern has another law office in Orlando,
9 Florida.

11/2 Fannie and Freddie “remove” files from a Foreclosure Firm

Fannie and Freddie said they will move those files to other law firms in the state but that they hadn’t yet identified where they would be redistributed. The firms said they had notified Florida’s attorney general about the decision to remove the files and that the Stern firm had cooperated with the action.

Freddie’s spokeswoman said an internal review raised “concerns about some of the practices at the Stern firm.”

11/4 Law Firm announces cut backs

The terminations come two days after mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac severed ties with the firm. “There’s been a substantial reduction in staff, it started happening over the past few weeks and many employees received notice today,” said Jeffrey Tew, a lawyer representing the Stern firm

11/4 Document and Shredding Service

Same day an employee for a document management and shredding company was unloading hundreds of empty boxes from a truck and carting them into the office complex where this Law Firm is located

So exactly who is keeping track of documents going, going and gone?

Please submit documents that have been signed by any attorney from The Law Offices of David J. Stern located in Florida. I am collecting the signatures.

Can be any of the following:

• Lis Pendens
• Assignments
• Affidavits
• Complaint
• Pleadings

Thank you in advance.

Click Envelope to Upload Documents

Or Info at stopforeclosurefraud.com