Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Citigroup announced on Thursday, Dec. 17, that they are suspending foreclosures to give borrowers a temporary break from evictions during the Christmas season.
Fannie and Freddie said the government-controlled companies will suspend foreclosures for two weeks, the Associated Press reported. The newspapers also stated that Citigroup said they will suspend foreclosures and evictions for 30 days, which will impact about 4,000 bowers during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and beyond.
“No family should have to face the prospect of being evicted during the holiday season,” said Michael Williams, the chief executive officer over Fannie Mae, in a written statement.
Most major lenders suspended foreclosure proceedings last winter when President Barack Obama launched a $75 billion loan modification program. However, foreclosures commenced again when the suspension periods expired.
Citigroup, a New York-based bank, said their foreclosure suspension will last through Jan. 17. Sanjiv Das, head of Citigroup’s mortgage division, said the temporary reprieve only applies to borrowers whose loans are owned by Citigroup. Those who make payments to Citigroup but whose loans are owned by other companies do not qualify.
“We want our borrowers to have a much less stressful time to spend their time with their families during the holidays as opposed to worrying about their homes,” Das told the AP. The behemoth bank said they believe they are helping 2,000 homeowners in the immediate future while another 2,000 homeowners will be aided because their foreclosure notices were due to be processed soon.
Citigroup also said they will work on developing long-term alternatives to foreclosures.
–terry shropshire
