U.S. Housing Program Fails to Stem Foreclosures, Watchdog Says

The U.S. Treasury Department’s efforts to help troubled homeowners are ineffective, as foreclosures continue to rise and aid fails to reach all those who need it, a watchdog said.

The Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, “has made very little progress in stemming this onslaught,” with 230,000 mortgage loans permanently modified in a year, according to the report by Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.