Mortgage Holders Doom Obama Foreclosure Plan to Failure
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
President Barack Obama’s $75 billion plan to keep millions of Americans from losing their homes to foreclosure may be doomed to fail because banks simply don’t want to refinance mortgages. That is the conclusion of a study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which found only 3% of seriously delinquent borrowers (those more than 60 days behind in their payments) had their loans restructured by lenders.
“Loan modification is not profitable for lenders,” Boston Fed senior economist Paul S. Willen told The Boston Globe. “If it were profitable, they would go out and hire staff.”
Instead of giving the $75 billion to banks, Willen and others believe the administration should distribute the money directly to homeowners. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, agrees with Willen, and is holding a hearing on his plan to provide government loans to homeowners who have lost their jobs and don’t qualify for loan modifications and other assistance.
“The problem is worse than we thought,” Frank said. “The failure to do these modifications means the whole situation stays bad longer,” which has huge implications for the nation’s recovery.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Lenders Avoid Redoing Loans, Fed Concludes (by Jenifer McKim, Boston Globe)
Why Don’t Lenders Renegotiate More Home Mortgages? Redefaults, Self-Cures, and Securitization (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) (PDF)
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