Free Republic

...The group of lenders, investors and nonprofit groups, dubbed Hope Now, was created by the Bush administration in October in response to soaring mortgage defaults and home foreclosures that have caused multibilion dollar losses on Wall Street and sent stock markets plummeting. The Hope Now group said Wednesday it helped 545,000 subprime borrowers with shaky credit in the second half of last year, compared with its January estimate of 370,000. That works out to 7.7 percent of 7.1 million subprime loans outstanding in September 2007. The mortgage industry is "working hard to help more and more homeowners who are in...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration and major financial institutions are close to agreeing on a plan that would temporarily freeze interest rates on certain troubled subprime home loans, according to people familiar with the negotiations. An accord could reassure investors and strapped homeowners, both of whom are anxious as interest rates on more than two million adjustable mortgages are scheduled to jump over the next two years. It could also give a boost to the Bush administration, which is facing criticism for inaction amid the recent housing turmoil. The plan is being negotiated between regulators including the Treasury...