White House Confronts Foreclosures

With unemployment on the rise and the housing crisis still in full swing, the Obama administration is set to announce a new $75 billion plan to keep more people in their homes, encouraging mortgage companies to create new loans for their clients. “We are taking additional steps to enhance servicer transparency and accountability,” said a Treasury spokesperson. The new plan comes on the heels of criticism that the original stimulus failed to adequately address the housing crisis. A report from the Congressional Oversight Panel recently concluded that the old plan was “targeted at the housing crisis as it existed six months ago, rather than as it exists now.” The updated program will reportedly publicize companies that are behind in loan modification for struggling borrowers, and give other companies $1,000 up front for each such loan as well as a potential $1,000 every year for the next three years.