The state attorney general leading settlement talks with the country's top mortgage servicers batted down speculation Monday that a deal had been reached.
"We have not yet reached an agreement with the nation's five largest servicers, and we won't reach a settlement any time this week," Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said in a statement late Monday.
Some news reports suggested that a final deal had been sent to the states for review, and that President Obama could announce a deal at his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
But Miller said there are "terms we must still resolve," although he provided no indication about which details were still on the table. Both Democratic and state attorneys general were meeting with federal officials — including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan — in Chicago Monday to discuss the still-unresolved terms.
Existence of the meeting was first reported by ASR sister publication, National Mortgage News.
Miller's statement came amid some signals that the parties involved in the talks — intended to provide remediation for poor mortgage practices and address servicing flaws — were close to finishing their work. Just last week, Donovan indicated a deal was imminent.
