Bankers, Lawmakers Assail Pace of Obama’s Mortgage Programs

July 16, 2009 - By Dawn Kopecki and Jody Shenn - Bloomberg

The Obama administration may be “just going through the motions” in dealing with the deficiencies of U.S. anti-foreclosure programs, leaving a record number of struggling homeowners with few options for relief, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said.

“I’ve had a lot of frustrations in trying to come up with plans that work,” Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said during a break in a hearing on the programs today in Washington. “I’m concerned that we’re just going through the motions. I don’t get the sense of urgency.”
A Bank of America Corp. executive told Dodd’s committee that the administration stokes “confusion and delay” among lenders when it announces anti-foreclosure plans before completing the program details, while Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama complained that the programs have fallen short of goals.

“Existing modification programs have not been very effective,” Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said. “Sustainable policies must be based on economic realities and facts, not wishful thinking.” more ...

Mortgage-Bond Holders Seek Borrower Debt Reductions

July 16, 2009 - By Jody Shenn - Bloomberg

Mortgage-bond investors want more homeowners to be given aid that reduces the size of their debt below the value of their property, a Fortress Investment Group executive told Congress.

Banks controlling loan-modification decisions as servicers have blocked such relief because other types of changes to mortgage terms don’t require the banks to suffer losses on their holdings of home-equity loans, Curtis Glovier, a managing director at the New York-based asset manager said in prepared testimony to the Senate Banking Committee in Washington today.

“Investors are willing to do our part by making a significant sacrifice in reducing mortgage principal,” he said, speaking on behalf of the Mortgage Investors Coalition, a group formed in April that represents 11 firms with $200 billion of assets under management. more ...