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Released: December 28, 2012

The state that ate the National Mortgage Settlement

Source: Kevin Wack, American Banker (Paid Registration)

With an enormous population, a vast landscape dotted with vacant homes, and the charred remains of the U.S. subprime lending industry, California sustained more damage from the foreclosure crisis than any other state.

So it only seemed right that Californians should receive the largest portion of the roughly $20 billion that the five biggest mortgage servicers agreed in February to provide to homeowners in 49 states, in order to settle claims related to alleged abuses of consumers.

Ten months later, though, it is becoming apparent just what an oversized piece of the pie the Golden State got. Through Sept. 30, California homeowners received nearly 41% of the nationwide pot, which is billions of dollars more than an analysis of nationwide mortgage data suggests is fair. In addition, California's hefty share of the proceeds may have come at the expense of other deserving states.

Read Full Article: The state that ate the National Mortgage Settlement