Banks struck a deal with 49 states to pay $ 26 billion for improper foreclosures . Dean Baker : This will help some homeowners , but it wo n't really help the housing market . Baker : Settlement will cover a range of sins committed by banks , other mortgage lenders . For example , if they had required servicers to give every foreclosed homeowner the right to stay in their home paying the market rent for five years following a foreclosure , millions of homeowners would have immediately been given housing security they currently lack . The biggest is that they made loans without verifying their borrowers ability to repay them.
Banks struck a deal with 49 states to pay $ 26 billion for improper foreclosures . Dean Baker : This will help some homeowners , but it wo n't really help the housing market . Baker : Settlement will cover a range of sins committed by banks , other mortgage lenders . The biggest is that they made loans without verifying their borrowers ability to repay them.