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Citi Launches Foreclosure Prevention Program for Homeowners

Citigroup Inc., one of the largest lenders in the U.S., has announced a new plan that aims to help as many as 500,000 homeowners remain current on their mortgages, avoid foreclosure, and stay in their homes.

Under Citigroup's Homeowner Assistance Program, over the next six months the lender will offer assistance to 500,000 Citi mortgage holders who "are not currently behind on their mortgage payments, but ... may require help to remain current on their mortgages," triggering the modification of up to $20 billion in mortgage balances, according to a Citi New Release. The company also announced plans to extend its "foreclosure moratorium" program, which suspends the foreclosure process for certain qualified borrowers.

According to CNNMoney.com, Monday's announcement from Citigroup comes on the heels of similar mortgage relief programs offered to struggling homeowners this year by Bank of America, IndyMac Bank, and JPMorgan Chase. Reuters reports that "lenders are acting as Washington faces pressure to do more to help borrowers, after committing hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money to help support or bail out financial companies."

• News Release on Citigroup's Homeowner Assistance Program (Citigroup Inc.)
• CNNMoney.com: Citi to Modify $20 Billion in Home Loans
• Reuters: Citigroup to Rework Thousands of Mortgages
• Wall Street Journal: More Mortgage Modification Programs, Will They Help?
• Bloomberg.com: Fannie, Freddie Said to Increase Efforts to Cut Foreclosures
• 10 Tips to Avoid Foreclosure (FindLaw)
• Reduce Your Mortgage Obligations to Avoid Foreclosure (FindLaw)
• Real Estate Center: Foreclosure (FindLaw)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on November 11, 2008 (boomark / email).