Lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee yesterday grilled Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson on why the government had not used some of the $700 billion in TARP funds for a foreclosure relief initiative. Paulson pledged to work on funding some sort of foreclosure relief effort but was fuzzy on the timetable or the form a mortgage bailout plan might take.
Lawmakers as well as some regulators have voiced strong support for the aggressive loan modification proposal advanced by the FDIC and its chairman, Sheila Bair. The price tag for the FDIC plan, which involves government insurance for modified mortgages, has dropped to $25 billion- a level that looks like a relative bargain in Washington, DC these days.
Inside Mortgage Finance is hosted an audio conference on TARP and the various foreclosure relief programs under consideration on November 20.
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