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Plan to Freeze Subprime Loans

Posted Nov 30, 07 3:12 AM CST in Business 

(Newser) – The Treasury Department and a coalition of lenders are close to a deal to freeze interest rates on some subprime loans in a bid to bring the mushrooming mortgage crisis under control, reports the Wall Street Journal. A freeze would ease the burden on beleaguered borrowers and banks. Rates on some 2 million adjustable rate mortgages are scheduled to jump in the next two years.

Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co., Washington Mutual Inc. and Countrywide Financial Corp. are involved in the negotiations as part of the "Hope Now Alliance." Support is even growing among investors, who stand to gain as mortgage rates increase. The American Securitization Forum, an industry association, has eased its opposition. "We support loan modifications in appropriate circumstances and are working to establish procedures to facilitate their delivery," said a spokesman.

Source Wall Street Journal

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson speaks to an audience at the fourth annual China Institute Executive Summit, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007 in New York. The federal government and a coalition of lenders...   (Associated Press)
A home is advertised for sale at a foreclosure auction in Pasadena, Calif. in this Aug. 14, 2007 file photo. Some 2 million homeowners hold $600 billion of subprime adjustable-rate mortgage loans, that...   (Associated Press)
A sign stands outside an existing home on the market in central Denver on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007. Some 2 million homeowners hold $600 billion of subprime adjustable-rate mortgage loans, known as ARMs,...   (Associated Press)
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subprime mortgages  • Henry Paulson  • borrowers  • Treasury Department  • Housing and Urban Development  • Hope Now Alliance


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