We get these quotes from a recent Reuters article:
The Treasury Department is considering giving banks and investors billions of dollars in fresh incentives to modify troubled mortgages and save homeowners from foreclosure, sources familiar with official deliberations said.
Under one scenario, investors in second liens would receive a cash payment if they agree to ease the terms of troubled loans and accept a smaller return on their mortgage investment, the sources said. …
Officials also envision giving fresh subsidies to encourage ‘short sales’ in which the lender accepts a payment that does not cover the entire loan amount, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to disclose details.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies, would administer the new program to resolve problems with second-liens under one plan being considered, they said.
A senior administration official declined to comment on Tuesday, but said the Treasury expected to unveil further details of its homeowner-aid program “soon.” …
In testimony before a congressional bailout oversight panel on Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Treasury was working on additional measures to keep struggling borrowers in their homes or provide them with “less damaging ‘exit strategies’ from homes they are clearly unable to afford, even under favorable mortgage terms.”