"The real estate finance industry remains devoted to helping borrowers who are having trouble making their mortgage payments on time.  We applaud the Senator's commitment to provide support for community-based non-profit groups.  The lending industry has been working with non-profit community groups for years supporting programs to help consumers who are facing foreclosure because nobody wins when a home is foreclosed upon.   A family loses their home and a borrower sees his or her credit tarnished, the lender and the investor both lose money and communities decline.

The legislative remedies that Senator Schumer presents today will have the unfortunate effect of limiting choice and restricting mortgage credit to the neediest borrowers, thereby hurting those people it is ostensibly designed to help."

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation's residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,400 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA's Web site:  www.mortgagebankers.org.