Lenders set to announce homeowner help

NEW YORK, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- CitiMortgage Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Das said Tuesday Citigroup wants to help U.S. homeowners "before they become delinquent."

Citigroup plans to announce a mortgage-modification program that could help as many as 500,000 homeowners in areas with rising unemployment or falling home values, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Similarly, a lending industry group is poised to make a new mortgage-modification plan announcement soon -- one that would help homeowners 90 days behind on their mortgage payments, said Faith Schwartz, executive director of Hope Now, a coalition of lenders.

"We have all worked hard to look at ways to streamline the process, to reach borrowers at risk and to add to the already substantial efforts that are already underway," she said.

Das said the Citigroup plan was aimed at earlier intervention. "With the unemployment rate rising and rising, more and more borrowers are getting into financial distress because of loss of income. It is a problem the country will face for some time to come, so it is very important to reach out to borrowers before they become delinquent," Das said.