WASHINGTON - Several major participants in the home mortgage market have agreed to adopt a set of principles for dealing with homeowners with high-priced loans who face possible foreclosure, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee said Wednesday.Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., had urged such voluntary action by mortgage lenders and other players two weeks ago when he convened a meeting of their officials and federal regulators to discuss possible solutions to the crisis gripping the market for high-risk loans. Such industry initiatives are preferable, in Dodd’s view, to any government bailout to cover mortgage loans in default.
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. More ...
