Late Friday the U.S. Treasury Department announceda major expansion of its Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
The three-year-old program has been largely deemed unsuccessful, as it has provided just about 750,000 borrowers with permanent loan modifications. The initial expectation from government officials was that it would help three to four million borrowers.
“Clearly the initial program erred on the side of making sure taxpayers were protected, but it didn’t do enough to help the overall economy,” said Michael Barr, former Asst. Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions and one of HAMP’s original architects.