From the NYT’s Sheila Bair article:
A $300 billion foreclosure prevention program passed by Congress this summer to help up to 400,000 homeowners wound up larded with requirements, like requiring background checks and restricting eligibility for mortgage relief to people at risk of foreclosure as of March 1.
As a result, fewer than 200 people have applied for the program since it opened in October, according to officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and no loans have been modified.
One does wonder who comes up with these numbers ($300 billion, 400,000) — which are off by $300 billion and 400,000 respectively. Could it be that moral hazard concerns in the loan-mod world really are overblown?