Mortgage rescue plan ready: Paulson
US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson said the government and banks will “soon” announce a plan to keep subprime mortgage borrowers “with steady incomes and relatively clean payment histories” from losing their homes.
By Bloomberg |
WASHINGTON: US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson said the government and banks will “soon” announce a plan to keep subprime mortgage borrowers “with steady incomes and relatively clean payment histories” from losing their homes.
“The number of subprime mortgage resets is going to increase dramatically next year, and we need to make sure the capacity is there to handle it,” Paulson said in the text of a speech at a housing conference in Washington. “We can strike the necessary balance to mitigate the risk to our economy of the housing downturn.”
The Treasury and mortgage industry officials are negotiating an agreement to fix interest rates on some loans to prevent a surge in defaults as borrowing costs rise. Paulson didn’t comment in the speech on how long of a freeze he supports.
He did propose a plan that, if enacted by Congress, would let state and local governments “temporarily broaden their tax-exempt bond programs to include mortgage refinancings.”
Paulson is seeking to mitigate the damage that a housing recession will have on the rest of the US economy and prevent further losses on securities backed by subprime loans.
“Treasury is aggressively pursuing a comprehensive plan to help as many able homeowners as possible keep their homes,” Paulson said.
“The number of subprime mortgage resets is going to increase dramatically next year, and we need to make sure the capacity is there to handle it,” Paulson said in the text of a speech at a housing conference in Washington. “We can strike the necessary balance to mitigate the risk to our economy of the housing downturn.”
The Treasury and mortgage industry officials are negotiating an agreement to fix interest rates on some loans to prevent a surge in defaults as borrowing costs rise. Paulson didn’t comment in the speech on how long of a freeze he supports.
He did propose a plan that, if enacted by Congress, would let state and local governments “temporarily broaden their tax-exempt bond programs to include mortgage refinancings.”
Paulson is seeking to mitigate the damage that a housing recession will have on the rest of the US economy and prevent further losses on securities backed by subprime loans.
“Treasury is aggressively pursuing a comprehensive plan to help as many able homeowners as possible keep their homes,” Paulson said.
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