White House Prods Banks

[cal04]

Letter Tells Chiefs To Start Backing Mortgage Relief
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070902928.html?hpid=topnews

The Obama administration yesterday scolded the heads of the country's largest banks, urging them to move faster and do more to help millions of distressed homeowners under a federal foreclosure prevention program.

In a two-page letter, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, acknowledge that the government program, known as Making Home Affordable, has yet to gain traction since being launched in March.

"We believe there is a general need for servicers to devote substantially more resources to this program for it to fully succeed and achieve the objectives we all share," the letter said.

(snip)
The administration will begin issuing monthly reports by Aug. 4 detailing lenders' performance, including how many modifications they have implemented. They will be judged by new criteria, such as how long it takes borrowers to get help over the phone and the accuracy of the information they are provided. Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage financing company, is developing a "second look" program to audit the applications of borrowers who have been denied help under the program.

[seabeckind]

1. Maybe they need a little more cattle prodding

I'm sure they'd pay much more attention if the letter were delivered by one of Holder's people.

[aquart]

2. Cattle prod is where my mind went, too.