This week state attorneys general from Virginia, Texas, Florida and South Carolina sent a letter to their colleague in Iowa, Attorney General Tom Miller.

He is leading the 50 state investigation into the so-called “robo-signing” foreclosure paperwork scandal.

Recently he presented the group with a ‘term sheet’ of a possible settlement with the big banks.

While there were no exact details, it sets up certain loss mitigation requirements which could include principal reduction for troubled loans.

The four AGs say they are concerned, “The term’s sheet’s principal reduction proposals may also have unintended consequences. These proposals do a disservice to homeowners who, despite an economic downturn, have worked hard to maintain their mortgages.”

Essentially they’re making the slippery-slope/moral hazard argument that principal reduction “rewards those who simply choose not to pay their mortgage—because they can simply take advantage of lenders’ obligation to honor virtually automatic principal write-downs.”

Well no sooner did this letter hit the news that a top mortgage analyst over at Amherst Mortgage Securities made just the opposite case: “It is very dangerous not to do these modifications and hence exacerbate the vicious home price depreciation/negative equity cycle.”

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Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/42256146?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS