Top 6 Servicers Agree to Foreclosure Freeze

Six of the nation's largest servicers -- which control nearly 60% of the $9 trillion residential receivables market -- have agreed to participate in a new Bush administration plan to freeze foreclosures for at least 30 days. Dubbed "Project Lifeline," the program affects both subprime and prime borrowers who are in danger of losing their homes. (The effort was actually created by the servicers, but with the blessing of the Treasury Department.) The servicers in charge of these delinquent loans -- including Countrywide Financial, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and others -- will contact homeowners who are more than 90 days late, freeze the foreclosure process, and then try to work out a solution for the borrower. According to the Quarterly Data Report, the nationwide foreclosure rate on subprime loans is almost 8%.