Possible future actions by the government between now and the 2012 elections: tax policy changes, stimulus spending, mortgage modification programs, etc.
The mortgage re-modification programs have been designed by the banks to keep money flowing in, while they should be used to stimulate our sagging economy.
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So we've announced a very ambitious and started to move on a very aggressive set of programs to help bring down mortgage interest rates, to reduce mortgage payments, millions of Americans will benefit from those programs, and again, you're going to see tens of thousands of small businesses see more access to credit because of the result of these programs.
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The Bernanke Fed has been characterized by an aggressive attack on Treasury yields through all possible means: zero-bound interest rates with a pledge to keep them at record-lows for years to come, purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities through several programs of quantitative easing (QE), and a maturity extension program dubbed Operation Twist that should push longer-term rates even lower.
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Your mortgage lender can help you decide which programs you qualify for and which one might be most beneficial for your situation.
The decline in home prices in the U.S. because of high rate of foreclosures and excess inventory of housing has weighed on the mortgage market in recent years but government programs and incentives to new home buyers should help to clear excess inventory and bring back life to the U.S. housing market over time.
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Until now, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has maintained that the current housing-rescue programs offered by the taxpayer-supported mortgage companies are less-expensive options.
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She spoke candidly about the economic crisis and how Bank Of America emerged from it as quite a different company, having absorbed mortgage lender Countrywide and investment bank Merrill Lynch, and implementing programs and initiatives to win back consumer trust.
In addition to the mortgage lending program, Cloherty launched one of the first auto leasing programs in the country.
Some lenders already have programs that lower payments by reducing interest rates or extending the life of a mortgage.
However, it was massive government support for the housing industry through the mortgage deduction, rules such as the Community Reinvestment Act, and a multitude of subsidy programs that created the property bubble which burst so disastrously in 2008.
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What is important is what happens to money and credit flows as the Fed allows special lending programs to expire and begins to replace other purchased assets on its balance sheet, mainly mortgage-backed securities, with traditional Treasury bills.
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