US FHFA: 'More Aggressive Action' Needed On Foreclosures
13 Februar 2009 - 1:00AM
Dow Jones News
The conservator of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) said
in a report to Congress Thursday that the pair have been actively
working to prevent foreclosures but that much remains to be
done.
"As this report shows, progress is being made in modifying loans
but much more aggressive action is needed to reach more troubled
borrowers," said James B. Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing
Finance Agency, Fannie and Freddie's conservator.
The mortgage giants' loan modifications for October and November
of 2008 were up 50% from the previous two months, reflecting
foreclosure freezes at both companies that gave them more time to
revamp the terms of troubled loans, according to an earlier report
from FHFA.
However, total loan modifications remained a small, albeit
growing, fraction of foreclosure starts on the 30.6 million
residential mortgages Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee. During
October and November, they completed 13,891 loan modifications, or
just 15% of the 90,913 foreclosure starts during the period.
-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629;
meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com
(Jessica Holzer contributed to this article.)