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Washington Post

Washington Post

Kamala Harris played hardball with banks. It delivered billions for homeowners.

Washington Post
Summary
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81% Informative

Kamala Harris walked away from a mortgage settlement with major banks in 2011 .

The banks’ offer seemed paltry considering the damage people suffered, especially in California .

By early 2012 , she struck a historic $18 billion agreement for California , far more than what had been on the table.

The deal was far from perfect: Thousands of Californians still lost their homes.

The California attorney general pushed for a more aggressive deal with the banks.

She was swarmed by desperate Californians who showed up with weathered Post-it notes, bags of loan papers and brown accordion files asking for help.

There were intense time pressures for her to get a deal cinched as Obama campaigned.

The financial system had imploded well before Harris was elected attorney general.

Eight of the nation’s 10 hardest-hit cities were in her state.

Friends immediately called, concerned that she had gone too far and was creating political adversaries.