BATON ROUGE, La.–Both banks and credit unions in this state are extending offers of relief to the tens of thousands of residents who have been affected by flooding.
But at the same time the Baton Rouge Advocate quoted one bankruptcy attorney as cautioning consumers to get all the details of any new financial arrangement in writing, including the amount of the repayment and when the repayment starts.
"During Katrina some mortgage companies offered deferment periods, and at the end of the deferment period they wanted the full amount due," the analyst said. "I'm not going to say this wasn't explained to them (consumers). But they certainly did not understand it."
Chase Bank reported that to date 875 of its mortgage customers in Louisiana have received a forbearance on their home loan as a result of the flooding.
Wells Fargo Home Lending, which has more than 43,000 residential mortgage customers who may have been affected by the floods, told the Advocate that among the potential options for its customers is postponing a payment up to 90 days, depending on the person's circumstances. The decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
Capital One is also offering emergency and hardship programs on a case-by-case basis to flood-affected customers, including forbearance programs allowing customers to defer payments, payment plans, and goodwill credits. Capital One has also suspended collection efforts, including auto repossessions, evictions and foreclosures.
Credit unions are also offering assistance programs. La Capitol Federal Credit Union and Eagle Federal Credit Union are offering loan extensions of up to 60 days.