HOPE Alliance Beefs Up Foreclosure Prevention Efforts.

Washington -- Federal and private entities alike are intensifying their preventive efforts in helping homeowners across the country avoid foreclosure.

The House Financial Services Committee recently examined progress in the coordinated efforts of Hope Now, an alliance between counselors, mortgage market participants, mortgage servicers and investors to build on existing efforts by creating a unified, coordinated plan to reach and help as many at-risk homeowners as possible. (See related story, page 23).

Beginning Nov. 19, over 200,000 letters were sent to the most troubled borrowers that need help right away. Outreach will continue in the coming months through letters and other efforts to contact homeowners.

These letters comprise the first deliverable of the Hope Now alliance, to reach out to at-risk homeowners to get them the help they need, said Bill Longbrake, senior policy advisor on the Financial Services Roundtables Housing Policy Council. While individual loan servicers continue outreach efforts on their own, this is the first step coordinated under the Hope Now alliance and this is a top priority for all those involved.

Members of the alliance hope that cooperation will be more effective than by working independently. Prompted by HUD and the Treasury Department, so far the alliance includes some of the countrys largest financial organizations, such as the American Bankers Association, American Financial Services Association, American Securitization Forum, Americas Community Bankers and Homeownership Preservation Foundation, as well as some of the largest banks like Bank of America, Citigroup Inc., HSBC Finance, JPMorgan Chase, Countrywide Financial Corp., Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo, and also Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and insurers such as PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., with more companies and organizations expected to join.

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