Brockton activist takes foreclosure woes to Bernanke

Brockton activist takes foreclosure woes to Bernanke
March 10, 2010 — Boston Globe

Katie Sandford is a Brockton housing activist and young mother who worries about how foreclosures have damaged her city.

Yesterday, she was able to have her say with the most powerful banker in the world, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, in a one-hour, face-to-face meeting in Washington, D.C.

Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Programs Help 50 Families
March 9, 2010 — Huliq News

Underwater homeowners in Milwaukee are getting help from local county mediators. Wisconsinites are doing everything possible to avoid more foreclosures. Milwaukee is in the state lead for foreclosed properties, according to Realtytrac.com, and the state currently ranks 21st in comparison to the rest of the nation's foreclosure crisis.

Congressman Calls for Second Lien Write-Downs
March 8, 2010 — DSNews

As servicers step up efforts to modify loans and keep borrowers in their homes, many are tripping over stumbling blocks in the form of home equity loans and other second lien mortgages. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D- Massachusetts) has sent out a petition to some of the nation’s largest junior lien holders demanding that they take “immediate steps to write down second mortgages” to create a clear path for sustainable loan restructurings.

Senate financial bill appears likely to keep Fed as regulator of big banks
March 10, 2010 — Washington Post

Key members of the Senate banking committee are coalescing around legislation that would strip the Federal Reserve of much of its regulatory authority but would leave the central bank with oversight of the nation's largest banks, according to aides familiar with the ongoing negotiations.

Dodd: Negotiations improving on bank reform bill
March 9, 2010 — MarketWatch

WASHINGTON — As they work on sweeping bank reform legislation, senators are close to reaching a deal on the creation of a controversial consumer protection unit for mortgages and credit card products while also resuming talks over how much power the Federal Reserve should have over banks.