Treasury, FDIC Said to Consider Guarantees to Stem Foreclosures

Treasury, FDIC Said to Consider Guarantees to Stem Foreclosures

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are considering a program that may offer about $500 billion in guarantees for troubled mortgages to stem record foreclosures, people familiar with the matter said.

The plan, which might put as many as 3 million homeowners into affordable loans, would require lenders to restructure mortgages based on a borrower's ability to repay. Under one option, the industry would keep lower monthly payments for five years before raising interest rates, the people said.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair mentioned the program at an international deposit insurers conference in Arlington, Virginia, yesterday without offering details. ``A framework is needed to modify loans on a scale large enough to have a major impact,'' Bair said.

A program of guarantees backed by the $700 billion bank rescue would be the Bush administration's most aggressive step on behalf of homeowners since the subprime crisis began more than a year ago. The government until now has relied mainly on a voluntary, industry-led alliance to spur loan modifications and avert foreclosures.

``It will take a massive and quick infusion of funds for refinancings and other foreclosure prevention to turn the tide,'' said David Abromowitz, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based public policy research organization.

Multiple options to stem foreclosures are being considered by the agencies and a final decision on a ``particular approach'' hasn't been made, said Jennifer Zuccarelli, a Treasury spokeswoman. ``The administration is looking at ways to reduce foreclosures, and that process is ongoing.''

Rising Foreclosures

Bair, whose Washington-based agency insures deposits at U.S. banks, is pressing the mortgage industry to modify more loans to curb foreclosures, which rose to the highest on record in the third quarter led by California, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan and Nevada, according to California-based RealtyTrac.

``The FDIC has had better ideas about how to solve this mortgage crisis than anyone else in the Bush administration,'' said Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat. ``We hope that the White House will listen very carefully to the FDIC's proposals.''

The FDIC and Treasury program would provide incentives to mortgage lenders and loan-servicing companies to change their loans, ``along with a framework for modifying them systematically into long-term and sustainable, affordable mortgages,'' Bair said.

Banks, Hedge Funds

The plan would apply to banks, savings and loans, hedge funds and other mortgage holders, the people said. While it would provide guarantees for about $500 billion in mortgages, it would cost about $50 billion that would be covered by the bailout package.

The government also is considering guaranteeing a second home loan, such as a home-equity line of credit, to assure mortgage holders they wouldn't lose money when they change loan terms, the people said. A guarantee in effect would put taxpayers on the hook for the loan if borrowers default.

Treasury's plan ``was very necessary legislation to keep the fundamental financial institutions and the financial markets from collapsing,'' Ara Hovnanian, chief executive officer of homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., said last week. ``We think in isolation it will fail if it's not combined with something that stabilizes the housing market right now.''

The FDIC would manage the program, the people said, adding that details are still being worked out and might change.

`Productive Conversations'

While the FDIC has had ``productive conversations'' with Treasury on using loan guarantees, ``it would be premature to speculate about any final framework or parameters of a potential program,'' FDIC spokesman Andrew Gray said in an e-mailed statement.

Bair last week said the rescue plan lets the government set standards for mortgage modifications and offer loan guarantees for mortgages that meet the standards.

``Loan guarantees could be used as an incentive for servicers to modify loans,'' Bair said in her Oct. 23 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. ``The FDIC is working closely and creatively with Treasury to realize the potential benefits of this authority.''

BLOOMBERG