Millions of homeowners eligible for foreclosure review

By Les Christie

Giving foreclosure families a second chance

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Homeowners whose lenders played fast and loose with their foreclosures may be in for a payday.

More than 4 million mortgage borrowers who were foreclosed on between 2009 and 2010 will have a chance to request an independent review of how their foreclosure process was handled, according to Joe Evers, the deputy comptroller for large banks at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Should the review find that “financial injury” occurred as a result of an error or other deficiencies in the way the foreclosure process was handled, the homeowner may receive compensation for their losses. However, just how much money the borrower will receive has yet to be determined, said Evers.

The reviews are part of a larger enforcement action taken against 14 large mortgage servicers last April by the OCC, the Federal Reserve and Office of Thrift Supervision in the wake of the “robo-signing” scandal.

As part of that action, the lenders, which include Bank of America (BAC,Fortune 500), Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citibank (C, Fortune 500), GMAC Mortgage, HSBC (HBC) Finance, Wachovia, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), agreed to clean up their foreclosure practices and repay victims.