The Mortgage Bankers Association released a report last week that showed nearly 14% of homeowners that hold mortgages across the nation are behind on their monthly payments as of the end of September 2009. The foreclosure problem originally began with subprime mortgages, however due to the high unemployment rate; foreclosures are beginning to affect all other types of mortgages. As the foreclosure rate has reached the highest seen in 26 years, more home owners are being forced into foreclosure. According to Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs for the Financial Services Roundtable, "The subprime problem has regrettably morphed into an unemployment problem."

In an effort to continue to battle the foreclosure crisis, the Obama Administration will announce an expanded program tomorrow, November 30, 2009, that is geared towards helping homeowners remain in their homes. Although, many loan providers are stepping up to the plate and adhering to the Making Home Affordable Program, many are not. The goal of the new plan is to speed up progress and give banks more incentive to convert old loans into new loans with a lower monthly payment. The Treasury is planning to announce that the loan providers will have to wait to see their monetary incentives until the Treasury is assured that the loan modifications are permanent. The incentives will consist of $1,000 for every loan that is modified to provide lower payments to troubled homeowners and another $1,000 annually for up to three years.