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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke declared that the remaining $350 billion from the much-criticized Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), some of which is supposed to go to alleviating foreclosures, is necessary to keep financial institutions afloat. The announcement came just as President-elect Barrack Obama lobbied for the remaining half fund to be quickly released by Congress.

House Democrats themselves are urging the release of the money, as long as Obama assures more transparency and accountability in the handling of the funds, and comes up with a more adequate foreclosure prevention program. This, the Obama administration readily did in the form of a letter recently sent by Obama?s top economic adviser Lawrence Summers to houses in Congress. The letter assured that some of the bailout fund will go to foreclosure aid.

Financial institutions and banks, blamed pretty much for causing the credit crisis in the first place, are now in dire straits even after receiving billions of federal money. The troubled Citigroup, which has already received $45 billion, is not an isolated case. All in all, Treasury has injected $200 billion in banks since the previous fall.

Even the TARP?s harshest critics who have called for more aggressive measures to stop foreclosures acknowledge that the bailout money is needed to prevent the economy?s complete collapse. However, experts also emphasized that government has to push banks to fix their problems.

Analysts project $500 to $750 billion of losses due to business failures and unemployment in the coming months, with several quarters needed for recovery. Total losses are expected to reach double the previous estimates at $1.5 trillion to $1.8 trillion.

In his speech to the London School of Economics, Bernanke said that public concern over the bailout program is understandable, but that the need for the money was inevitable. Though Summer’s letter to Congress promised some of the bailout funds to help stem foreclosures, Bernanke himself seemed to say that most of taxpayers? money would have to go into helping banks.

The law department of Baltimore is coordinating with eighteen other cities in the country in efforts to stop the foreclosure crisis. Through litigation, the department hopes to help homeowners with mortgage related concerns.

The litigation is particularly aimed at lending companies that implement discriminatory lending practices. Back in 2007, Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo because of its alleged discriminatory practice. However, the company contradicted the allegations. They said that race is not a consideration in their mortgage pricing. Rather, their loan pricing depends on credit risk. They do all their best to be fair in dealing with all clients as their growth depends on it.

Geroge A. Nilson, City Solicitor, said that damages to be generated, which are expected to reach an amount of tens of millions of dollars, would be used to fund foreclosure prevention measures. He further said that one of the aims of the resolution is to be able to implement in the city level what has been done in the state level.

The idea of a joint effort was introduced by St. Paul officials. They are planning on conducting litigations against some of the biggest lending companies holding most of the mortgage properties in the city. According to City Attorney John Choi, working with Nilson has been a great help.

Though foreclosure auctions is a nationwide crisis, its impact is most felt by local cities and municipalities. Maryland foreclosures increased by 10 percent from December 2007 to December 2008. Also, there was a 16 percent increase from November to December 2008.

Undoubtedly, local communities have to take bold measures to address the housing problem. Through the work group, vital information will be shared among localities, strategies will be integrated, and they will be able coordinate towards coming up with an effective foreclosure prevention measure.

Loan servicers have quite a reputation. They collect mortgage payments and keep the records and they have no concern other than to keep profit coming. In these times when homeowners are faced with foreclosure crisis, they play a very vital role.

In the previous year, almost one million properties have gone through foreclosure. This is not expected to stop in the next few years, but rather, is expected to further increase in number. When that happens, the country will be facing a worse economic situation.

Despite the numerous efforts of various sectors, the foreclosure crisis still persists. None of the solutions seems to work.

Ocwen, one of the biggest subprime loan servicers in the country, has come up with an approach that could probably put an end to the foreclosure problem.

The loan servicer used to have an unimpressive reputation. Its clients have complained about unnecessary fees and unresponsiveness. Now, it might be able to redeem its reputation and help keep troubled homeowners in their distressed homes.

Many times in the past, the company offered options to delinquent borrowers so they could catch up on missed payments. Now that the housing economy is problematic, the same system could prove to be tedious.

To cope with the times, Ocwen reprogrammed its computers in such a way that they could reveal the best way to haul out value from loans, whether dropping rates, cutting principal or changing from adjustable to fixed rates. Thus, almost 100 percent of the time, Ocwen successfully devises an affordable payment plan.

Ocwen also provides loan modification options for secondary home owners ? those who purchase homes as investments. That is a win-win situation both for Ocwen and the homeowner, and the tenants of these investment homes are likewise benefitted.

The foreclosure prevention measures taken by Ocwen prove that while the company seeks to gain profit, the economy and public welfare need not be compromised.

It has been six months since lenders have implemented modifications to ease the burden of homeowners on mortgage payment. In spite of this, a significant number of borrowers is still on the verge of losing their property. The negative outcome has led skeptics into thinking that government efforts to stop the housing crisis are merely put to waste. The problem is not effectively addressed and the money allotted for foreclosure prevention is just blown.