A Hint that We'd Be Waiting for These Settlement Terms
February 10, 2012
“It's absurd that the mortgage settlement hasn't been made public, but it's also silly to say that, for that reason, it ‘doesn't exist,’” tweeted Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos earlier today. Shortly before that, American Banker posted an article that questioned whether the settlement terms were ready.
Indeed, the settlement terms are unavailable on the website created to provide information regarding the agreement, with a “Coming soon” as a place marker. But should we be surprised that the settlement isn’t formatted and ready for our perusal?
It has been readily apparent that, despite more than a year of preparation, the announcement was thrown together at the last minute. Take the email sent out early Thursday morning regarding the press conference, sent from the Housing and Urban Development Public Affairs Office (see below).
At the bottom of the email announcing the 10 a.m. presser, it said, “Media interested in attending must RSVP by 9:00 a.m. EST.” The email was sent out at 8:49 a.m. the same morning, meaning media had less than 11 minutes to meet the deadline. Not an impossible task, of course, but definitely the sign of a group in a hurry.
The rushed nature of the email isn’t an indicator of whether the settlement will be strong for homeowners, or thoughtless in its attention to securitized loans. It does imply, however, that the announcement itself was ramrodded through. And for those of us with specific questions only the settlement terms can answer, it’s going to be a long weekend.
The HUD email
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