Governor Abercrombie Do Not Let the AG Sign The Multi State Bank Settlement

Dear AG of Hawaii

We need a more comprehensive investigation before the financial institutions at the heart of the crisis are granted broad releases from liability.

The Times editorial describes why Eric Schneiderman, Beau Biden and Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General of California, have refused to join the 47 other attorneys general who have agreed to the settlement. The Times editorial stated,

The proposed settlement reportedly would prevent the states from pursuing claims against banks relating to fraud or abuse in the origination of loans during the bubble. It would also prevent states from pursuing claims for foreclosure abuses, like improper denial of loan modifications. And it would prevent them from pursuing banks' misconduct in their dealings with the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems database, or MERS, a land registry system implicated in bubble-era violations of tax, trust and property law. redress -- could be impeded or blocked by the other constraints. Once one avenue of inquiry is closed off, it can be difficult to ascertain what happened along other points in the mortgage chain. In effect, the legal waivers being contemplated would let the banks pay up to sweep wrongdoing under the rug.