Gov't to announce new loan aid effort

The AP reports:

The federal government and the mortgage industry are announcing a new effort Tuesday afternoon to streamline the process of modifying loans held by mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized control of the two companies in September, scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. EST.

An industry official who worked on the plan said the new approach will allow lenders to modify more delinquent loans by establishing criteria to speed up the process. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because details had not been announced.