Lenders pledge speedy response on loan help

Lenders pledge speedy response on loan help
Associated Press ~ June 17, 2008

WASHINGTON - Mortgage companies are pledging to let troubled borrowers know whether they're approved for help within 45 days of receiving a homeowner's application.

The promise is expected to be announced Tuesday by the Hope Now Alliance, a Bush administration-backed industry group. The new efforts come as the industry draws fire for not doing enough to alleviate the housing crisis.

The changes, outlined in a copy of mortgage industry guidelines obtained by the Associated Press, are designed to clarify the mortgage assistance process for borrowers and the industry alike.

The mortgage industry is also trying to alleviate a major stumbling block: the reluctance of companies that hold second mortgages, such as home equity loans, to agree to such modifications.

Statistics released last month by Hope Now showed that nearly 183,000 borrowers received some form of loan workout in April, the highest monthly number since the effort started last summer.

Lawmakers in Congress and consumer advocates, however, call the industry's efforts inadequate. They are pushing for a new $300 billion program to allow the government to back new loans for struggling homeowners.

The Hope Now group also was criticized last week by a federal bank regulator, who questioned the accuracy of trade groups' mortgage assistance data. The regulator, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan called them "responses to surveys that produced aggregate, unverified results from individual firms."

Foreclosure filings last month were up nearly 50 percent compared with a year earlier. Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48 percent from 176,137 in the same month last year and up 7 percent from April, foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc. said Friday.

Members of Hope Now include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Washington Mutual Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.

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