Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila C. Bair said, "The Financial Institution Letter released today strongly encourages financial institutions and their affiliate servicers to report their loan modification efforts through the HOPE NOW Alliance, and to also support efforts through the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group to collect data on loan modifications and foreclosure prevention activity. Accurate reporting about loan modification efforts is essential to an improved understanding by the public and policy makers of the progress in responding to growing mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures."

"In the future, I hope that the HOPE NOW reporting will incorporate the more detailed information requests included in the American Securitization Forum's Investor Reporting Standards released in December. Detailed reporting on progress in responding to growing mortgage delinquencies is vital both to measure progress and to inform the public debate about how best to achieve effective solutions to the mortgage market problems."