White House Addresses Foreclosure Moratorium
Federal officials made a full-court press this weekend to ward off a foreclosure moratorium.

In a piece posted Sunday on the Huffington Post Web site, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan wrote: ''The notion that many of the very same institutions that helped cause this housing crisis may well be making it worse is not only frustrating -- it's shameful."

But he stopped short of calling for a moratorium on foreclosures, saying, “A national, blanket moratorium on all foreclosure sales would do far more harm than good, hurting home owners and home buyers alike at a time when foreclosed homes make up 25 percent of home sales.''

Meanwhile, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Sheila Bair told listeners on C-Span’s Newsmakers, ''If it turns out this is just a process issue, then I don't anticipate the exposures to be significant. If it turns out to be something more fundamental, then we'll have to deal with that,'' she added. ''But I think we need to get all the information before we jump to any conclusions.''

Source: The New York Times, David Segal (10/18/2010)