Goldman Sachs Moves Closer To $1.8B Target for Consumer Relief Under Mortgage Settlements; 10.7K Loans in Total Modified

BOSTON, Nov. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Goldman Sachs, forgiving principal on 746 loans, is steadily moving closer towards fulfilling a $1.8-billion consumer-relief obligation under its two April 11, 2016, mortgage-related settlement agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and three states, Eric D. Green announced today in his ninth report as independent Monitor of the consumer-relief portions of the agreements.

Since Professor Green's previous report on August 1, 2018, Goldman Sachs forgave a total of $78,678,617 in principal on 746 first-lien mortgages, for average principal forgiveness of $105,467 per loan and total reportable credit of $79,272,978 after the application of appropriate crediting calculations and multipliers. Goldman Sachs has now modified a total of 10,671 mortgages.

The latest increment brought the total amount of credit claimed and conditionally validated by the Monitor to $1,199,803,282 or 67 percent of the $1.8-billion target.

"I am pleased to be able to confirm that Goldman Sachs continues to make steady progress toward meeting its obligation to provide Consumer Relief valued at $1.8 billion," Professor Green said. 

The modified mortgages are spread across 42 states and the District of Columbia, with 32 percent of the credit located in the settling states of New York, Illinois, and California, and 47 percent of the credit located in Hardest Hit Areas, or census tracts identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as containing large concentrations of distressed properties and foreclosure activities.

Goldman's two settlement agreements resolved potential claims regarding the marketing, structuring, arrangement, underwriting, issuance and sale of mortgage-based securities. Besides the Department of Justice, California, Illinois and New York, Goldman Sachs reached settlements with the National Credit Union Administration Board and the Federal Home Loan Banks of Chicago and Des Moines. Under the settlements, Goldman Sachs agreed to provide a total of $5.06 billion, including consumer relief valued at $1.8 billion to be distributed by the end of January 2021.

Professor Green, a professional mediator and retired Boston University law professor, was named by the settling parties as independent Monitor with responsibility for determining whether Goldman Sachs fulfills its consumer-relief obligations. He has assembled a team of finance, accounting and legal professionals to assist in the task.

The report is available at the Monitor's website at: http://goldmansachs.mortgagesettlementmonitor.com. The website provides further details about the settlement, plus contact information for Goldman Sachs, the Department of Justice, the Attorneys General of California, Illinois and New York, and agencies that provide legal or tax advice to consumers.

The Monitor's mailing address is: Monitor of the Goldman Sachs Mortgage Settlement, P.O. Box 10310, Dublin, OH 43017-5910, and the e-mail address is [email protected].

SOURCE Goldman Sachs