Barney Frank and Maxine Waters are calling on the FDIC’s Sheila Bair to take the loan workout reins and lead the charge to put the brakes on our nation’s foreclosure epidemic. In a letter to President Bush today, they wrote that they were “very impressed” with Bair’s recent work at the failed Indymac with her loan modification program and and with helping struggling homeowners stay in their homes.
The key to addressing our current economic situation remains avoiding preventable foreclosures and pursuing sustainable loan modifications for troubled borrowers to keep them in their homes,” Barney Frank said.
“Certainly the government’s role will necessarily differ in regard to mortgages the government actually owns or controls and others that remain in pools backing securities in the private market,” the letter said. “The combination of tools available, however, allows us to have a substantial impact on the foreclosure crisis that continues to undercut economic recovery.”
Frank and Waters wrote Bush that the government has new powers to stabilize the housing market because of its takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and note the $700 billion market rescue plan passed on Oct. 3, has language requiring the administration to protect homeowners.
