Feds ramp up aid for distressed homeowners

The Obama administration is planning to refinance millions of underwater mortgages into new, government-backed mortgages while reducing payments for unemployed borrowers, officials announced today. The new initiatives are part of a ramped up effort by the Treasury Department to help stem on the tide of foreclosures amid pressure from Congress, and, officials stressed, will not draw upon any additional taxpayer funds. Financing for the new programs will instead come from the $50 billion in housing aid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The government expects three to four million homeowners to benefit from the government’s new and existing programs, and said it is planning to “balance the need to help responsible homeowners struggling to stay in their homes, with the recognition that we cannot and should not help everyone.” [NYT]