Chase Strives to Reconcile with Military Clients

While many of those problems may have been a misunderstanding, Chase is taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. The bank has announced a few new programs designed to deal specifically with military customers and veterans of our country. And while these programs are a great way to honor and support our active military members, the CEO of Chase said the programs “are a start, but in no way a finish” to make things right. The mistakes that were made last month included illegal fees and interest charged to military members who are on active duty. Under the law, active duty service members cannot be charged more than six percent on any debt that they have before they get deployed. And the law protects their home, too, because they cannot be foreclosed on until after they come back from their active duty.

Here are some of the services and products that Chase plans on implementing in the next couple months:

Loan Modifications – Chase will begin to improve a program to modify mortgages for active military members in April. In order to qualify, the borrower must be delinquent in their payments or show that they are having trouble making their payments. The program will include military members who have served on active duty dating as far back as September 11, 2001 and it goes above and beyond the government’s current modification program.

Mortgage Rate Reductions: For military members who are protected under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Chase is implementing a rebate-type program. Qualifying borrowers can receive a rate reduction to 4 percent if they are on active duty. This can extend for one year following the end of their active duty. The current rate is 6 percent for military members so Chase’s plan is even better.

Home Ownership Assistance – Chase has announced it will not foreclose on any homes in which the mortgage was taken out by a service member who is currently deployed. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act only protects military members if they entered into their mortgage before leaving on active duty, so Chase’s program goes a step further in the right direction. In conjunction with some nonprofit partners, Chase also plans to donate 1,000 homes to veterans and current military members through the next five years.

Jobs for Veterans – Chase is joining with other companies to hire at least 100,000 veterans and military personnel over the next decade.

These are just a few small ways that Chase is planning to say “I’m sorry” to the military members and their families that got mistreated in recent months. Do you think it’s enough?