Consumer complaint received 2022-04-25
Company: REGIONS FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Other type of mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
Companies Involved : Region 's Bank Mortgage Group, XXXX XXXX ( XXXXXXXX XXXX ) Complainant : XXXX XXXX & XXXX XXXX XXXX We applied for a construction loan via Region 's Bank Mortgage which was handled by XXXX XXXX as primary. Our situation was unique in that I had been technically unemployed for 12 months while awaiting closing on a XXXX XXXX Loan which was disclosed during the loan process. 

We received a letter of approval from Region 's and entered into a contract with XXXX XXXX and sent in a check for {$45000.00} as a downpayment. I was told that there was very little chance we would not be approved for a mortgage due to our net worth and credit scores above XXXX Things went awry as we entered final underwriting- we were " approved '' with a major XXXX** **We were asked to put all our cash assets and liquidate IRA 's into a trust to draw {$11000.00} per month income. Given that we were awaiting final approval on an XXXX XXXX loan, this would have ended our ability to buy a business and crushed us tax wise. 

There were two verbal statements made by Region 's mortgage that concerned me greatly and reminded me of behavior that led to the crashes of XXXX. 

A. XXXX the closing coordinator told me we should grab this loan because internal compliance at Region 's bank felt that this type of loan was problematic and not compliant although they would get it approved. I was told it wouldn't be offered very much longer due to internal control concerns of their Risk team. 

B. XXXX XXXX directly told me on two occasions, that as soon as the loan closed we were free to cancel the trust, which made me feel as if I would be committing a fraudalent activity just to get past their underwriters. 

2. When I consulted my XXXX banker and Financial Advisors, I was told that these activities would endanger my business loan. I informed the bank that the terms of their XXXX were un-doable ... .and then things got worse. 

A ) I asked XXXXRegion 's to help me recover my {$45000.00} deposit, however, they stated repeatedly that I " just didn't want to close '' despite very real issues. 

B ) XXXXRegion 's then relayed to the builder, XXXX XXXX , that we just didn't want to close vs the serious issues above. XXXX XXXX at that point informed us that they would keep our entire deposit due to the banks absolute insistence that " we didn't want to close '' and wouldn't negotiate any settlement due to these statements C ) The builder 's sales manager, XXXX XXXX, relayed to my wife and I that he was very good, close friends with XXXX and XXXX ( the closing manager ) and that what they said was 100 % the reason that we couldn't negotiate a refund or any settlement D ) I again asked XXXX XXXX for help on this matter to reiterate that Region 's position was untenable but they began ignoring our pleas. They then sent me a denial finding letter after it was clear the loan wouldn't be viable. 

I would ask this from the CFPB : - Should Region 's have made a pre-approval on this loan given our circumstances- Should a banker 's personal opinions and friendships with builders regarding his clients finances be relayed to outside parties such that they can take advantage of clients. Why make inflammatory and untrue statements? 

- Should Region 's be allowed to make these grey area XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  loans when the client may be impacted or maybe not approve them at all? Giving me the advice to set up a trust and then close it felt like bank fraud. 

- Was there any collusion or financial kick-back from XXXX XXXX XXXX to Region 's bank personnel? 

- Is there any penalty to Region 's for their actions to gain return of my {$45000.00} deposit, given their actions directly led to its loss? 

- Last, Can a Bank be banned from doing business with certain homebuilders due to improprieties in personal friendships and causing clients to lose money? 

Thank you for assessing these concerns.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation