BofA Signs Agreements with States for Unemployment Programs

""Bank of America"":http://www.bankofamerica.com will leverage the federal government's Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) through participation in unemployment assistance programs in all 18 eligible states and the District of Columbia.
[IMAGE] The HHF targets states with sustained unemployment rates at or above the national average and falling property values.

Bank of America has worked with the ""U.S. Treasury"":http://www.treasury.gov and state housing finance agencies (HFAs) to design and implement programs that provide assistance to financially distressed homeowners, including interim payment assistance to unemployed borrowers.

""This is an important additional tool in the broad range of assistance programs and solutions we offer to customers who are struggling to make their mortgage payments,"" said Rebecca Mairone, national mortgage outreach executive for the North Carolina-based lender.

""The unemployment assistance programs, in particular, extend help to homeowners who otherwise may not be eligible for the government's modification program and other homeownership retention solutions due to lack of qualifying income,"" Mairone explained.

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Since the launch of a limited number of state pilot programs, HFAs collectively have about 2,700 applications for unemployment assistance in process for Bank of America customers and have provided $2.8 million toward mortgage payments for the benefit of more than 700 customers. More than $1 million of those payments were received in the first half of May.

""Bank of America has completed mortgage modifications for nearly 840,000 homeowners since January 2008, and we are doing more than ever in our outreach efforts through community events and new customer assistance centers,"" Mairone said. ""Nevertheless, modifications require that the homeowner is able to make reasonable monthly payments, so servicers have been unable to offer much help beyond short-term forbearance to those who are unemployed.

""The Hardest Hit Fund helps to fill this gap by providing temporary payment assistance to unemployed homeowners,"" Mairone added. ""Bank of America is pleased to be participating in the program in every HHF state as part of our commitment to helping homeowners through difficult times.""

State HFA program guidelines vary, and each state agency manages its own program, including determining eligibility, to ensure assistance is targeted to meet the specific needs of distressed homeowners in their communities.

States participating in HHF unemployment assistance programs include Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee, plus the District of Columbia.