A Portal-Based Strategy: Government Mandates for Servicers to Communicate Better with Distressed Borrowers could be Aided by Online Portal Technology (Cover Report: Regulation / Legislation‪)‬

Industry activity at the start of this year's first quarter raised hopes that a mortgage market recovery had begun in earnest. But by the end of the second quarter the rebound had already run out of steam. While early on there were signs of a market trying to break out of an entrenched downturn, there was no engine that could move the recovery forward. After closer analysis, it is clear that, as much as anything else, a logjam of unresolved mortgages in default is still slowing the economy down to a crawl. And if there was any lingering doubt about how poorly the economy is doing, the revised first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) number provided proof. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced on July 29 that it was revising down first-quarter real GDP to 0.4 percent from the earlier-reported 1.9 percent. This sparked inevitable worries about a potential double-dip scenario, with housing remaining a serious drag on the nation's economic fortunes. The nation's economic policymakers have tried to respond to the massive overhang of houses facing foreclosure, but throughout this crisis we have learned there are clear limits to what they can do. Borrower interaction is key