The new initiative, called as the Project Lifetime, will expand the earlier Hope Now program, to include people who are in serious delinquency related problems. The problems may be with Alt A, prime loans or even subprime. This venture also promises to help those people facing foreclosure filings on their second mortgage or even home equities.  

A press conference was called at Treasury Department to announce this new venture on Tuesday morning. It was presided over by Alphonse Jackson, the Secretary for Treasury and Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as the representative for the Bank of America, Floyd Robinson and Faith Schwartz, executive director of Home Now Alliance. 

Project Lifeline, at first is the combined effort of six biggest mortgage service providers. List includes Citigroup, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, Countrywide Mortgage and J.P. Morgan Chase. These big six represent a whooping 50 percent of the mortgage market, in the US. The Hope Now program has 19 other services as its members and even they are expected to join in the new venture, according to secretary Paulson. 

Borrowers, who will be eligible to avail this program, would receive letters, informing them about the program and the eligibility criteria, from their mortgage service providers. These borrowers, at least 90 days late in paying the required money, should contact the servicer within a span of 10 days. They should inform the servicer about their interest in joining the program, their decision to attend the counseling procedure if necessary and to provide the servicer with all the required financial details. A 30 day pause in foreclosure filings will then be granted to the delinquent home owner so as to modify the loan or some other resolution.  

According to Bank of America’s Robinson, the financial evaluation of the borrower will include everything from credit cards to all the debts incurred. The process would be transparent so that the homeowner is not left with any doubt regarding the loan and foreclosure. 

Almost 4000 calls per day are now being handled by the hotline, a rise from 625 at the beginning. 400 counselors work all through the day. 775,000 letters have been sent though contact rate is only 16 percent. Situation is hoped to improve as the program gains more publicity. 870,000 borrowers have benefited from this program with most of them being subprime borrowers. Loan modification figures in 2007 doubled in fourth quarter over the third quarter. 

When asked how many people they could help. Paulson stressed that it was upto the individual servicers to decide on the number. However, there would always be some people who cannot be helped. They would refuse to contact Lifeline and simply leave their homes. Some people’s financial condition makes it impossible for even Lifeline to help. However, Bank of America’s Robinson promised that they would try their best in helping all the needy people by looking at it on a borrower-by-borrower basis