HAMP and other programs are completely failing

No surprise, I have reporting this since August.  Most mortgage modifications are now private.

The Treasury Department's acting assistant secretary for financial stability, Tim Massad, defended the administration's housing rescues in a conference call with reporters. While the administration hasn't achieved as many home loan modifications as originally expected, he said, the government has reached a "large percentage" of eligible homeowners.

The government's newer programs, he said, are just getting started. "It's a little too early to reach a conclusion," Mr. Massad said, noting that the Treasury has two more years before its housing programs end.

But Mr. Barofsky's report noted that newer mortgage assistance initiatives are off to a slow start. For example, a program launched by the Federal Housing Administration last September to assist borrowers who owe more on their home loans than their properties are worth has landed with a thud, the report said. As of the end of last year, only 15 homeowners had refinanced their mortgages through the FHA's "short refinance" program, it said.

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