Despite increasing pressure to take more aggressive steps to keep troubled
borrowers in their homes, the Obama administration said Wednesday that it had
no immediate plans to alter its foreclosure-prevention program by increasing its
reliance on reducing loan balances.
The administration’s statement came as attorneys general and banking
regulators in 14 states warned that policy makers needed to do more to stem the
tide of foreclosures.
The Obama program, announced in February as a cornerstone of the
administration’s efforts to stabilize the housing market, has been running into
increasing criticism as delinquencies have mounted. The program has focused
on reducing loan payments to affordable levels through interest-rate reductions
and other changes in loan terms. But state officials and others say it needs to
address falling home prices through principal reductions because many homes
are now worth less than their mortgages.
Obama has no immediate plans to write down principal, Somebody please tell the administration they already are in the hardest hit areas
