ESOP director says housing crisis far from over despite lender agreement

CLEVELAND - A $25 billion-settlement over mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses has been reached. Some say the deal between the justice department and five of the country's lenders is a relief.

Mark Seifert, Executive Director of Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People, or ESOP, said it's just the beginning.

"It sounds like a big number, but when you start looking at the magnitude of what these clowns on wall street did,
its just not that much money," Seifert said. ESOP has helped thousands of victims of predatory lending since 1999.

Seifert said the settlement will help just a small number of struggling homeowners by allowing their mortgage debt to be reduced. One million homeowners will be helped, but 11 million people have underwater mortgages.

About 750,000 victims of foreclosure will receive nearly $2,000.

"What are you saying? 'Yeah, I screwed up, I shouldn't have done what I did, but I'm going to give you $2,000, if I can find you.' What is that? That is arrogant."

Seifert also said while the settlement is between five lenders, two big names are missing.

"The folks over at Fanny and Freddie have decided that they don't want to participate to principal reduction. This settlement does not apply to any loan held by Fanny May or Freddie Mac, which makes up about 50 percent of everything that's out there."

He said the silver lining is the $70 million coming to Ohio as part of the settlement to demolish vacant and foreclosed homes. But he stresses the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis is far from over.

"We are not out of this by any stretch. We could spend this money tomorrow and still have a lot of work to do."

On Saturday, ESOP is holding a protest against an area bank to demand "serious action on principal reduction." They say underwater homeowners and neighborhood leaders from across northeast Ohio will board buses and take their message to a local bank.

The protest starts at the office on Perkins Avenue in Cleveland at 9 a.m.