As previously discussed, legislators were concerned that new refinancing opportunities included in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 would experience significant delays. The following article from American Banker discusses recent assurances provided to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and other legislators that the program would be operational by Oct. 1 as originally intended.

Dodd: Agencies Will Meet Deadline 

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd said Tuesday he is confident a refinancing program meant to reduce foreclosures would be operational by Oct. 1 as intended under the housing bill the Senate passed over the weekend.

After the American Banker reported last week that a Housing and Urban Development Department spokesman said proposed regulations carrying out the refinancing program might not be ready until next year, the Connecticut Democrat convened an emergency meeting with regulators Tuesday to secure promises to the contrary.

"It was a very reassuring meeting," Sen. Dodd told reporters after meeting with the heads of the Federal Reserve Board, Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and HUD, who are tasked with fleshing out the program’s details.

Sen. Dodd said HUD Secretary Steve Preston vowed regulators would "blow through the process," and eschew the usual "regulatory gauntlet" in favor of fast action.

"They are all very confident they can do that by October 1," said Sen. Dodd.

He said senior agency staff would hold their first meeting Wednesday to begin hammering out the details. The agencies need to devise standards fleshing out criteria that would let struggling borrowers refinance into loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration after lenders agree to a writedown.

Sen. Dodd said Mr. Preston is asking President Bush to expedite a request to let HUD hire 300 additional staff immediately to facilitate implementing the refinancing program.

Sen. Dodd also took the opportunity to call on President Bush to hold a signing ceremony for the housing bill, which could be signed as early as Wednesday. The bill includes measures to overhaul the government-sponsored enterprise regulation and let the Treasury backstop them to prevent collapse 

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Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 500 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.