ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The National Credit Union Administration issued a letter to credit unions, encouraging all who service securitized subprime adjustable-rate mortgages to adopt the HOPE NOW alliance's loan modification standards on reporting foreclosure prevention efforts.
HOPE NOW was formed by the Treasury Department and the Housing and Urban Affairs Department and brings together housing counselors, mortgage servicers, investors and others to align efforts at preventing home foreclosures. Outreach to borrowers with loans that may be worked out is key to assuring preventable foreclosures and HOPE NOW offers options available in a unified location (www.HOPENOW.com).
The NCUA's letter reiterates its supportive position on the gathering of data as a means to making prudent workout arrangements and says they are in the best interests of both the credit union and the borrower.
The recently developed reporting format will aid the government in seeing the size and scope of foreclosure prevention activity and will foster transparency in the securitization market, particularly on ARMs. This knowledge will help the financial industry "move forward collectively through the current mortgage crisis," said the NCUA.
--cburger@cutimes.com
