AG: MA to get $318M from foreclosure settlement

BOSTON -- Attorney General Martha Coakley says Massachusetts borrowers will receive about $318 million from a $25 billion national settlement with lenders over foreclosure abuses.

Massachusetts was one of the last states to sign on to the settlement.

Coakley filed suit in December against five major U.S. banks after expressing frustration with the pace of negotiations toward a national deal.

She says the settlement announced Thursday will allow the state to continue pursuing legal claims against the banks on issues specific to Massachusetts law, including claims that lenders initiated foreclosures without holding the actual mortgages.

Of the $318 million targeted for the state, Coakley says $224 million will go toward loan modifications and other direct relief to borrowers.

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