Government

Perhaps it was eager anticipation of the World Series kickoff, but Sen. Ted Kaufman's baseball analogy at a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday clearly put into perspective a key defect of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) - a defect that watchdog groups and market observers have been lamenting for months now. And that is, Treasury's back-peddling of how many homeowners the program will actually help. ""What matters is not how often you swing the bat, but how often you reach the bases,"" Kaufman said.

Treasury's latest report on the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) shows that over half of the trial plans started have been canceled and 11 percent of borrowers have re-defaulted on their new loan. The TARP special inspector general told Congress that HAMP is ""failing to meet its goal of preserving homeownership"" and risks igniting public anger and mistrust. A Fed economist says HAMP is a reflection of the Obama administration's ""failed policies,"" and the government must be prepared to ""pay lenders a lot of money"" to modify loans.

The Treasury Department released its monthly progress report on the administration's flagship foreclosure-prevention program Monday, and the results show that the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is continuing to lose steam. Servicers completed just 28,000 permanent HAMP mods during the month of September - 16 percent fewer than the previous month. More than half of all mortgage mods initiated under HAMP have been terminated, but officials say the program's ""rigorous standards"" mean better post-mod performance.

State and federal regulators stepped in to shut down the operations of seven financial institutions over the weekend -- two in Florida, two in Georgia, and one each in Illinois, Kansas, and Arizona. This latest round of closings brings the FDIC's failed-bank tally for the year to 139. In all of 2009, the FDIC counted 140 bank failures. With two months left in 2010, this year is on pace to be the worst for institutional closings since the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s.

On Monday, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation will launch a pilot program to help unemployed and underemployed homeowners with their mortgage payments. The pilot will test the waters for the state's planned use of its federal dollars allocated through the Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund. Assistance is only available to Lee County homeowners during the 90-day pilot period, but officials say they plan to go statewide during the first part of 2011.

The federal government's fraud task force is investigating possible criminal violations in connection with foreclosure documentation errors reported by at least five mortgage servicers. HUD is spearheading the multi-agency probe, which is in its early stages. But HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan told reporters this week that his office has been scrutinizing the industry's servicing practices for the past five months, and has concluded that the documentation problems grabbing headlines are not widespread.

The Federal Reserve's popular Beige Book released this week suggests economic activity across most of the nation is showing signs of ""modest"" growth, but it's not enough to improve the anemic jobs picture. Housing markets remained weak with most of the 12 regional districts reporting sales below year-ago levels. But the central bank says its seeing stability in home prices. Conditions in the commercial real estate sector were soft, while overall lending activity was described as stable in most districts.

Taxpayers' bill for keeping the nation's two largest mortgage firms afloat could more than double between now and 2013, according to the companies' regulator. To date, Fannie and Freddie have drawn $148 billion from the Treasury since they were placed under government control in September 2008. The two GSEs' could need another $73 billion to $215 billion to maintain positive net worth over the next three years. In a worst-case scenario, the overall tab for keeping Fannie and Freddie in business will reach $363 billion.

The House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity will hold a hearing on the industry's foreclosure paperwork errors when Congress reconvenes next month. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who chairs the subcommittee, expressed disappointment in Bank of America and GMAC Mortgage for lifting their foreclosure freezes this week. Waters has introduced legislation that would prohibit a bank from initiating foreclosure proceedings without offering the homeowner loss mitigation.

Allegations that some of the nation's largest mortgage servicers cut corners in processing foreclosures and filed unsubstantiated paperwork could turn criminal. With documentation errors reported by at least five mortgage servicers, President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, led by the U.S. Department of Justice, is looking into whether servicers broke federal laws and whether they misled federal housing agencies in the process. Mail and wire fraud may also be an issue.