WASHINGTON, Feb 12: US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday unveiled a new programme to help homeowners facing foreclosure, backed by six leading mortgage companies.

The plan would allow borrowers facing foreclosure an opportunity to pause the proceedings to work out payments or refinancing.

The programme, dubbed Project Lifeline, provides loan modification or refinancing and is aimed at “those facing the greatest immediate risk of losing their homes,” Paulson said at a news conference.

Paulson said the targeted outreach would apply to “all” homeowners 90 days or more delinquent on their mortgages, not just holders of subprime, or high-risk, mortgages at the centre of the credit crunch unleashed last August.

Project Lifeline was developed by six members of the government’s Hope Now Alliance, a public-private programme launched four months ago to aid homeowners battered by a collapse in housing prices and tighter credit that has led to spiking foreclosures.

Paulson said the six mortgage servicers represent about 50pc of the mortgage market: Bank of America, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo.

“We encourage all Hope Now servicers to adopt this new program. Project Lifeline is aimed at homeowners who face a real risk of losing their home and have not yet addressed the problem,” he said.—AFP