Obama administration revises anti-foreclosure strategy

The Obama administration’s newest foreclosure-prevention efforts, expands on the government's marquee foreclosure prevention program, Making Home Affordable. That program was originally expected to reach as many as 4 million borrowers, but it is not on track to help so many.

To reach its goal, the administration is adding tools to help lenders reach struggling borrowers who have lost their jobs or who are "underwater" because home values have plunged and they now owe more than their homes are worth.

 Administration officials said the new efforts are not designed to help all troubled borrowers, but rather those who stand the best chance of recovering. That approach, they said, should help further stabilize the housing market and the economy at large.

"We're not going to stop every foreclosure. It wouldn't be fair. It would be too expensive, and it probably wouldn't succeed anyway," said Diana Ferrell, deputy director of the National Economic Council, which advises the president.

The administration's plan, to be implemented over several months, requires lenders to slash jobless borrowers' payments for three to six months, adopting a strategy used by the industry and applying it more broadly.