NY Times-Largest U.S. Bank Halts Forclosures In All States (Yay!)

Bank of America: John R. Coughlin/workroom.thinkprogress.org

(Story reported by David Streitfeld for the NY Times)

Bank of America, the country’s largest bank, said on Friday that it was halting foreclosures in all 50 states indefinitely.

The action is likely to increase pressure on other lenders to declare their own moratoriums. Lawmakers and state law enforcement officials have been widely calling for such halts.

Representative Edolphus Towns, the New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, applauded Bank of America’s move and said, “I expect to see every other responsible banking institution follow their lead.”

Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who is the Senate majority leader, thanked Bank of America “for doing the right thing” and urged other lenders to follow suit.

Last week, Bank of America halted foreclosures in 23 states where evictions need court approval, saying it was reviewing its filings in the wake of disclosures about improperly prepared documents. Those states include Florida, Illinois and New York.

Bank of America services 14 million loans. More than 14 percent of those loans are past due or already in foreclosure.

(Click here to read the full story on the NY Times website.)