Senate Passes Loan Modification Bill
The US Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that seeks to prop up the housing market by giving mortgage servicers freedom to modify problem home loans without fear of investor lawsuits.
The bill also revamps the Hope for Homeowners programme aimed at helping borrowers remortgage and raises the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s coverage on individual bank accounts and its ability to borrow from the Treasury. It also strengthens the terms of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
The House of Representatives has already passed its version of the legislation and the Senate tried to tailor its bill, which passed 91-5, so the two could be easily reconciled. The legislation protects servicers from lawsuits filed by mortgage bond investors when they modify loans under government anti-foreclosure initiatives.
