Projo Biz Blog

Nearly 1,000 Rhode Islanders who are struggling with risky mortgages from Countrywide Financial Corp. could get their loans modified and payments reduced under a proposed settlement with the state worth over $23 million, state attorney general's office said today.

The offer is part a nationwide $8.7 billion loan-modification program proposed by Countrywide's owner, Bank of America Corp., and announced on Monday to settle charges of abusive lending around the country.

Rhode Island would receive more than $22 million for loan modifications and another $1.15 million to help prevent foreclosures or defray the expenses associated with relocating after a foreclosure, the state Attorney General's chief of the civil division, Jim Lee, said. Countrywide estimated that the loan modifications alone could help an estimated 990 Rhode Island residents, Lee said

Details of the settlement offer are being evaluated, Lee said, and a decision is expected next week.

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