Banks, Administration Pressure AGs on Foreclosure Settlement

The Obama Administration has finally found something it can agree on with the nation's big banks: The need for the 50 state attorneys general to finally reach a deal to end the year-long investigation into faulty mortgage foreclosure practices and reach a long-awaited settlement, the FOX Business Network has learned. People at the big banks say the Obama Administration is prodding the state AGs, led by Iowa's Tom Miller, to agree on a deal that is currently on the table that calls for fines and revised mortgage foreclosure practices -- but also limits banks' liability on legal action. Banking executives say if there has been any progress made in reaching a deal in the near future -- and there is wide disagreement among banks and regulators about how to define progress -- it's because the Obama Administration has begun to side with the big banks and not some of the state AGs who want far greater fines and the ability to sue banks in the future.

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