Some Mortgage Market Players Agree On Bailout Principles To Apply To Help Struggling Homeowners

Several major participants in the home mortgage market have agreed to adopt a set of principles for dealing with homeowners facing foreclosure due to subprime mortgage loans, according to an Associated Press article appearing on the website of the Florida Association of Realtors. Such voluntary action by mortgage lenders and other players are preferable to any government bailout to cover mortgage loans in default, according to Senator Chris Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

Those agreeing to the principles include the Mortgage Bankers Association; Wall Street powerhouses Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. HSBC Holdings Corp. and Bear Stearns & Co.; government-sponsored mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; AARP; and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Several activist and community groups receive money from financial institutions and work with homeowners to refinance high-rate loans.

Some companies, however, including Countrywide Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., did not endorse the principles. For more, see Several players in home mortgage market agree on principles for borrowers in trouble.
.