Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Russell Vought requesting information on second mortgages that were meant to be extinguished under the National Mortgage Settlement, citing reports that families are facing foreclosure based on “zombie” second mortgages. The letter argues that banks may have received credit under the settlement for cancelling second mortgages and then sold the same loans to debt collectors, and points to cases where homeowners stopped receiving statements, received tax documents indicating cancellation, or saw the loans removed from their credit reports before later learning the second mortgage was still active. Warren also asked what records the CFPB holds from work undertaken prior to Vought’s leadership on zombie mortgages, and criticised the bureau’s current supervision and consumer-protection posture. The requested information is due by April 13, 2026.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 2026-04-01
U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Warren seeks CFPB records on National Mortgage Settlement zombie second mortgages
U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren has asked Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Russell Vought for information on “zombie” second mortgages intended to be extinguished under the National Mortgage Settlement. The letter alleges banks may have received settlement credit for cancelling second mortgages and then sold the loans to debt collectors, and questions the bureau’s records, supervision and consumer-protection approach in this area.