NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) said Thursday they have reserved for
their respective $5.3 billion shares of the settlement that big
banks reached with the Justice Department, the Department of
Housing and Urban Development and 49 state attorneys general.
The long-awaited $26 billion settlement involving the nations'
largest companies collecting mortgage payments and executing
foreclosures is a relief to investors because it removes some
uncertainty about the financial impact of the foreclosure
trouble.
But analysts warned that other litigation still looms, and that
banks will still have to struggle with investors in mortgage-backed
securities who demand that the banks buy back soured loans.
Financially, at least, shareholders likely won't have to bear
new costs for Thursday's settlement.
"Given the extended length of time over which negotiations took
place, we expect that the five largest servicers have largely
provisioned for the cost of this settlement," RBC Capital Markets
analysts wrote in a research report. "Thus, we expect little, if
any, impact to our bank income statements."
J.P. Morgan's share of the settlement is $5.3 billion, the same
as for Wells Fargo. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) is bearing the
biggest share, $11.8 billion; Citigroup Inc. (C) has to pay $2.2
billion, and Ally Financial Inc. must pay $310 million.
Citi, in a statement, said that it will take $209 million in
retroactive fourth-quarter charges, but added that its existing
reserves "will be sufficient to cover customer relief payments and
all but a small portion of the cash payment called for under this
settlement."
A spokeswoman for J.P. Morgan said in a statement that the bank
has set aside the estimated cost of Thursday's $26 billion
settlement in previous quarters.
"We will incur some additional operating costs to implement the
new servicing standards," but those "will not be material," she
said.
Bank of America didn't immediately comment on the settlement or
its reserves for the financial impact.
Citi, in a statement, said existing reserves "will be sufficient
to cover customer relief payments and all but a small portion of
the cash payment called for under this settlement." However, the
bank said it will adjust fourth-quarter earnings to reflect a
charge of $84 million.
Ally said it doesn't expect the financial impact of the
agreement to be material, a spokeswoman said. The lender took a
charge of $270 million in the fourth quarter for expected
foreclosure-related penalties.
Wells Fargo, in a press release, said it "had fully accrued" for
the following elements of the settlement that affect the company: a
$900 million refinance program, a $3.4 billion relief program for
consumers who experience financial hardship and $1 billion paid to
the federal government.
"The Refinance Program will not result in any current-period
charge as the impact of this program will be recognized over a
period of years in the form of lower interest income as qualified
borrowers benefit from reduced interest rates on loans refinanced
under the program," Wells Fargo said.
However, the settlement will reduce interest from mortgage
lending for years because borrowers benefit from reduced interest
rates on loans refinanced under the program, Wells Fargo and Citi
said.
Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Timothy Sloan told investors
during a Credit Suisse Financial Services conference in Miami that
the settlement is good for customers and shareholders. "We are very
pleased with the settlement, we are pleased to put this behind us,"
he said.
Shareholders responded somewhat indifferently. Bank of America's
stock rose 1.85%; shares of J.P. Morgan, Citi, and Wells Fargo
fell, but all less than 1%. While shares of tobacco companies fell
after the big 1998 settlement, bank stocks likely won't take a hit
following the settlement because banks have reserved for the
financial impact, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a research
report.
"While the settlement likely reduces future liability related to
foreclosure matters, the agreement does not reduce future liability
related to securitization activities, federal or state criminal
claims, or claims brought by individual homeowners," wrote Wells
Fargo Securities analyst Matthew Burnell, who follows Bank of
America and J.P. Morgan Chase.
J.P. Morgan said in a regulatory filing that the settlement
releases the bank "from further claims related to servicing
activities, including foreclosures and loss mitigation activities,"
but that this doesn't include securitization matters or New York
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's suit against Bank of
America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo over a private national
mortgage electronic registry system, MERS.
Mike Heid, president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said in an
interview that the issues surrounding housing and the economic
recovery "are very broad, very complex," and "there is no one
action, no one solution that takes care of all of that."
He declined to discuss the New York state suit about MERS, but
said, "The spirit of cooperation that was achieved through that
settlement approach I would believe could and should carry forward
in a lot of other ways."
Further, there was no word Thursday about regional banks signing
on to the settlement. Last month, PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
(PNC), SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI), and U.S. Bancorp (USB) said they
put aside reserves for the settlement. "We anticipate investors may
hear more news on these companies later on in the process," RBC
analysts said.
-By Matthias Rieker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2471;
matthias.rieker@dowjones.com
--Nick Timiraos and Andrew R. Johnson contributed to this
article.
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