CROWN POINT — A multi-state settlement involving large banks is helping low-income Indiana residents keep the heat on as the state heads into the cold-weather months.
Indiana has directed about $29 million in funds from that settlement into its Energy Assistance Program. The program last year helped nearly 200,000 households pay utility bills with an average $420 benefit.
The money came from a settlement Indiana and 48 other states and the federal government entered into last year with the nation's five largest banks over foreclosure abuses and mortgage-servicing practices.
The Times of Munster reports Indiana's overall share of that settlement was about $145 million. About $100 million of that was directed to Hoosiers who lost their homes to foreclosure and to borrowers who seek to refinance their home loans.
