National Mortgage Settlement Announced

California is slated to receive an estimated $20.6 billion dollars stemming from a nationwide settlement with the nation’s leading mortgage lenders.

The National Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight made the announcement Thursday.

The settlement amounts to nearly $46 billion dollars, with the biggest slice of the pie going to California. But one expert warns, don’t hold your breath.

“A lot of these people have no homes or addresses to send it to,” explained Candace Jones, a retired banker. “A few, out of designated individual categories, will get $225.”

Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo agreed to cut struggling homeowners’ mortgages by $19 billion dollars.

That decision came down last year. What’s new is that California will receive roughly $2 billion dollars more than expected.

Jones, whose career spanned 38 years in banking, says the settlement is merely a penalty pay-off by the big banks; a financial slap on the wrist.