Banks penalized for rushed foreclosures

Improperly handling foreclosures has come back to bite six big banks.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, part of the Treasury Department, announced Wednesday that it has taken action against U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Santander and Everbank.

The action includes limits placed on the banks planning to purchase rights to service mortgages from other lenders.

According to the OCC, each of the six banks has failed to meet the requirements of a 2011 enforcement order, which was issued by the government, and discovered certain lenders rushed the foreclosure process for clients.

However, the regulators also lifted similar enforcement orders that had been placed on Bank of America, PNC, and Citigroup, having discovered each had complied with the orders.

The scandal over “robo-signing” kicked off an investigation and led to a $8.5 billion settlement between the OCC and 15 banks.