(New York, NY) On Wednesday, March 26^e at 12:00 noon in front of JPMorgan/Chase and Bear Stearns corporate offices at 47^e and Par, hundreds of homeowners will take to the streets of New York. The demonstration, organized by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), will protest the taxpayer bailout of Bear Stearns to benefit JPMorgan/Chase and refusal of the government and Federal Reserve to provide real solutions for the millions of homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

The Federal Reserve and the Bush Administration commit tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to the very institutions who created and profited from the mortgage crisis while providing false hope for homeowners on the verge of foreclosure.

“The government continues to blame homeowners facing hard financial difficulties in making payments on mortgages that were structured to fail, while using billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the same predators who created this mortgage crisis and profited from it”, says Bruce marks, NACA CEO.  “The government’s orchestration of JPMorgan/Chase’s takeover of Bear Stearns with taxpayer dollars is an outrage,” continues Bruce Marks. “Not only did they get a fire sale price, but the American taxpayer is now responsible for $30 billion of their unaffordable and defective mortgages. To further this outrage, JPMorgan/Chase refuses to commit to long-term solutions for the mortgages they service.” 

The government can provide real solutions for homeowners at risk of foreclosure without a bailout while holding those who created the crisis responsible.   The Homeowner Stabilization Initiative requires the Federal Reserve and Bush Administration to issue a “safety and soundness” directive to all mortgage servicers as follows:

1. Immediately stop all the resets and roll back the previous resets to the interest rates for which homeowners were initially qualified.
2. Stop all foreclosures until real long-term solutions have been initiated by the servicers and/or presented to the investors.  The primary long-term solution would be a loan restructure that reduces the interest rate to a mortgage payment the homeowner can afford for the remaining term of the loan.

The Homeowner Stabilization Initiative relies on Main Street, not Wall Street.  It provides for the “stability of the financial system” as stated by Secretary Paulson. It is not a taxpayer bailout of the predators.  By halting foreclosures and restructuring mortgages into conventional affordable terms, this initiative directly impacts the country’s financial stability since homes would not be abandoned, the tax base of cities and towns would not be eroded, and consumer confidence would be restored.  

NACA continues its advocacy against some of the nation’s largest lenders who refuse to restructure loans with affordable long-term payments.  The focus is now on JPMorgan/Chase and GMAC with others to be targeted soon.  The Federal Reserve and Bush Administration also need to disclose the total amount that taxpayers are paying to the very institutions and investors who are primarily responsible for this unprecedented mortgage crisis.  Bear Stearns, JPMorgan/Chase and others orchestrated this homeownership deception scheme.  NACA will be leading actions and demonstrations to stop this huge corporate bailout and force the politicians, the Federal Reserve and Bush Administration to utilize their power and authority to protect the millions of homeowners at risk of foreclosure.