JP Morgan Chase Admits Mortgage Mistakes

By Richard Gibson
Jan 21 2011

JP Morgan Chase, a large US mortgage bank, admitted this morning that they have made mistakes on interest rates and foreclosures on homes belonging to active duty US military personnel.

According to federal law, active duty soldiers can only be charged a set rate of interest on home loans and as long as they are serving they cannot have their homes foreclosed upon. A recent report showed the Chase had foreclosed on 14 homes belonging to military personnel.

This investigation was launched after a public outcry over soldiers serving in Iraq lost their homes to foreclosure during the economic crisis. The federal government launched a massive investigation into the allegations and found that several banks, including JP Morgan Chase, had violated the federal laws.

This morning the bank announced that it would make amends for the mistakes that they had made. This is ahead of a set of federal charges that were to be brought against the bank for their actions against US soldiers.

However, there are at least 7 other banks in the US that are currently being investigated for similar actions. But, they have declined to admit any guilt in the investigation despite the overwhelming evidence that has been presented in the case.

The federal investigators have said that they will likely seek federal charges against the other banks named in the investigation. This will hopefully, according to the investigators, spur settlement talks to help protect the soldiers that are serving in the armed forces.