A House of Representatives' sup committee called top U.S. mortgage lenders and their regulators to Capitol Hill Thursday to examine widespread flaws in foreclosure documents.

Major banks said they had taken steps to tighten procedures to avoid sloppy documentation in the future. Lenders maintained that the basis of their foreclosures has been accurate. Federal regulators said they are actively reviewing banks' work and plan to issue their findings in January. Thursday marked the second congressional hearing this week into flaws in foreclosure documents. The hearings were spurred by revelations that lenders used "robo-signers" to sign hundreds of foreclosure documents a day, without proper legal reviews.

Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services housing subcommittee, questioned whether penalties imposed by regulators have been severe enough. "Why should [lenders] take you seriously?" Waters asked.

Federal Reserve officials appeared before the subcommittee, followed by executives from Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial.

For information on foreclosure defense, please contact a Maryland mortgage modification attorney of Chaifetz & Coyle, P.C., by calling 443-546-4608.