Loan Mod Program Left Homeowner’s Fate in Hands of Dysfunctional Industry

by Olga Pierce and Paul Kiel
ProPublica, Feb. 17, 2011, 5:03 p.m

Last February, with 6 million homeowners in danger of losing their homes, the mortgage industry was assembled at a luxury hotel in San Diego applauding themselves—literally.

“As a group, we owe ourselves a round of applause,” said Yvette Gilmore, vice president of loss mitigation at Freddie Mac, citing the industry’s efforts to avoid foreclosures, garnering loud clapping from the ballroom full of bank executives, lawyers and others in the industry.