TARP Recipients' Requirement: Modify Home Loans

U.S. banks receiving federal aid through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) are going to be required to modify mortgages for borrowers under the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable initiative, says Housing and Urban Development's Secretary Shaun Donovan.

As a condition going forward, banks taking TARP money will have to participate in the plan, Donovan says. In February, President Barack Obama unveiled plans to help refinance or modify loans for up to 9 million mortgage holders, and refinancing numbers have shot up 88 percent while mortgage rates have dropped to record lows. Mortgage applications recently hit the highest levels in the last three months, says the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Treasury Department has handed out $328.4 billion from its $700 billion TARP fund to recapitalize banks.

The average interest rate on 30-year mortgages hit a record low of 4.78 percent in the week ending April 2. This data comes from Freddie Mac's mortgage numbers. The rate increased to 4.87 percent last week.


About the Author

Linda McGlasson

Linda McGlasson

Managing Editor

Linda McGlasson is a seasoned writer and editor with 20 years of experience in writing for corporations, business publications and newspapers. She has worked in the Financial Services industry for more than 12 years. Most recently Linda headed information security awareness and training and the Computer Incident Response Team for Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), a subsidiary of the NYSE Group (NYX). As part of her role she developed infosec policy, developed new awareness testing and led the company's incident response team. In the last two years she's been involved with the Financial Services Information Sharing Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), editing its quarterly member newsletter and identifying speakers for member meetings.




Around the Network

Our website uses cookies. Cookies enable us to provide the best experience possible and help us understand how visitors use our website. By browsing bankinfosecurity.asia, you agree to our use of cookies.