Bush to Expand Government Role to Deal With Subprime

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President George W. Bush today will announce steps the administration says will help people with subprime mortgages keep their homes.
Bush will let the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages for low-and middle-income borrowers, guarantee loans for delinquent borrowers, allowing them to avoid foreclosure and refinance at more favorable rates, according to an administration official.
The change would affect borrowers who are at least 90 days behind in payments and let them continue living in their homes, the official said on condition of anonymity. Bush, in a statement in the White House Rose Garden, also will back proposals to provide tax relief for homeowners who refinance.
Tighter credit and higher borrowing costs threaten the housing market, which has been an engine of U.S. economic growth. Democrats in Congress and the party's presidential candidates have criticized Bush for not taking action to prevent the spread of foreclosures.
The president still opposes Democratic calls to let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest U.S. mortgage finance companies, boost purchases of mortgages as a way to ease lending constraints, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.
Bush's proposals will address ways ``to prevent these kinds of problems from arising in the future,'' Fratto said.
Home Resales
U.S. home resales fell in July to an annual pace of 5.75 million, the slowest since November 2002, the National Association of Realtors reported on Aug. 27. Sales have declined for five consecutive months.
About 14 percent of banks raised standards for mortgages to their most creditworthy borrowers and 56 percent made it more difficult for people with limited or tainted records to get loans, according to a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers in mid-July.
Among the plans Bush will announce is a joint initiative of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development departments to identify people who are at risk of defaulting on their mortgages, the official said.
Bush wants the government to work with lenders, insurers and others to develop more favorable loan products for those borrowers, the administration official said.
Congressional Plans
Congress also is looking at ways to minimize the fallout from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, including rising numbers of foreclosures among borrowers with poor credit or high debt. Democratic presidential candidates also are pushing for action to stem the number of foreclosures.
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said in an interview with CNBC last week that he plans to move legislation next month that would expand the FHA's role to ``provide additional avenues for people to get cheaper, reasonable, safer credit'' without relying on subprime loans.
Senator Hillary Clinton, a New York Democrat, said this month she planned to introduce legislation that would ban penalties for people who pay off mortgages early and require federal registration of mortgage brokers.
An administration proposal to give low-income homebuyers an alternative to subprime loans last month was greeted skeptically by Republican senators and congressional auditors, who said it might be too risky.
The FHA's plan to lower down payments and boost loan limits in its lending program doesn't include a pilot project or consider the impact on African-Americans, Senator Elizabeth Dole, a North Carolina Republican, told the Senate Banking Committee last month.
Risks
The FHA is trying to steer borrowers away from subprime mortgages that often carry higher fees and interest rates. The administration plan would also give the government flexibility to charge different premiums based on buyers' risk.
Bush is holding to his position outlined earlier this month that Congress should first strengthen oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before letting the government- sponsored enterprises exceed their current regulatory limits on mortgage holdings.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have said they can help market liquidity by being allowed to buy more of the mortgages and mortgage bonds shunned by investors.

Nikkei rose2.6%on Friday as news that President Grorge W. Bush will outline reforms to help homeowners with subprime mortgages.

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蘇格蘭皇家銀行(RBS)證實，旗下美國RBS Greenwich Capital的債務抵押證券部門主管卡普蘭Rick Caplan，連同6名職員已經離職，帶走該部門大約四分之一的員工，令該部門的職員數目減至17人；另巴克萊銀行的業務主管卡希爾Ed Cahill亦突然請辭。
該行一位發言人稱:兩周前卡普蘭的離職是經其本人及公司方協商的結果，反映出我們對債務抵押業務的調整，這是對我們上半年市場業務量下滑的事實進行的相應調整。而且銷量滑坡始於2007年第一季，短期內我們認為需求水平不能回到2005-2006年的狀態。

另有消息指，雷曼兄弟、貝爾斯登及高盛等的結構金融產品部門，受到信貸緊縮影響，正醞釀9月初進行大規模裁員行動。

Amigo

謝謝！

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次級按揭貸款是金融機構對一些借貸信用不佳或低收入人士提供的貸款，過去數年這種業務在美國和英國迅速增長。

但有跡象顯示無能力還款的人數正在增加，投資者擔心這個情況影響提供這些貸款的金融機構的資金流通，引發最近環球股市的股災。

布什總統將公布政策防止類似的情況再出現。

據《華爾街日報》報道，預料布什將表示，讓政府支持的房屋貸款保險機構"聯邦房屋管理機構"（Federal Housing Administration）為拖欠還款90天或以上的次級按揭貸款人做擔保。

預料布什還將強調嚴厲執法防止不負責任借貸的重要性。

美國在野民主黨批評布什當局未能確保監管部門督促金融機構嚴格核實客戶的還款能力。

分析指出，投資者不清楚次級按揭貸款問題的嚴重程度，擔心這個情況將波及其他貸款市場，導致全球信貸緊縮，因此拋售被認為與這個危機有關的股份。

歐洲和美國的中央銀行最近紛紛出手干預試圖穩定信心。