A settlement anticipated by SunTrust Banks Inc. will be the third mortgage-related settlement since last summer.
The Atlanta-based financial services firm disclosed Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings report will include a charge for $145 million.
SunTrust said the charge is being made to its legal reserves for a legal provision expense tied to legacy mortgage matters.
The disclosure was made in a
Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SunTrust said it previously disclosed the matter, and the estimate is the cost to bring final resolution.
Last June, SunTrust agreed to a $968 million settlement addressing abuses in loan origination, mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing. Liability under the False Claims Act on Federal Housing Administration-insured loans accounted for $418 million of the settlement, $500 million went towards borrower relief for servicing and foreclosure abuses, and $50 million in cash was used to redress servicing practices.
A month later, SunTrust
agreed to a $320 million settlement to resolve a criminal investigation into abuses on the Home Affordable Modification Program.
Then, in August, SunTrust disclosed that it was cooperating with the government in a broader-based industry investigation of law firms’ expenses related to foreclosures on agency loans. It noted at the time that it wasn’t able to resolve the matter, which was prompted by a whistleblower lawsuit, in the earlier settlement.
SunTrust said it plans to release its fourth-quarter 2014 earnings report on Jan. 16.
