There is bipartisan agreement today that stemming home foreclosures and restructuring troubled mortgages would slow the downward spiral harming financial institutions and the real American economy. The federal government possesses a range of tools to take action, but what’s missing is a way to persuade the mortgage servicers who control most of these loans on [...]

Mortgage lenders have helped nearly 2.5 million troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure since the mortgage meltdown began in the summer of 2007.
That’s according to the latest report from Hope Now, the coalition of banks, mortgage-securities investors and housing counselors formed by the Bush administration to stem the foreclosure crisis.
Hope Now members helped 212,000 borrowers stay in [...]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Oct. 12, 2008 - Floridians can still get home loans despite the national credit crunch, banking officials assured Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday.
After a meeting at the Governor’s Mansion, Crist encouraged people to see their banker whether they’re interested in buying a new home or having problems paying their mortgages.
“Go talk [...]

As home prices continue to decline and loan defaults mount, U.S. regulators are bracing for dozens of American banks to fail over the next year.
But after a large mortgage lender in California collapsed late Friday, Wall Street analysts began posing two crucial questions: Just how many banks might falter? And, more urgently, which one could [...]