Floridians can still borrow, Crist says

Governor Charlie Crist met with bank officials on Thursday and said afterward that state residents can still get home loans despite tighter credit restrictions. He also said buyers with mortgage trouble should talk to their lenders, who often don’t want to foreclose. Mike Fields, Tallahassee area president of Bank of America, told the governor that his bank would consider restructuring as many as 80,000 subprime and other troubled mortgages in Florida to avoid foreclosing on those properties.