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12 AGENCY SPOTLIGHT: OCC A LOOK AT THE LATEEST POLICY DEVELOPMENTS AND TOP HEADLINES OCC COMMENTS ON PROGRESS OF HARDEST HIT FUND INITIATIVE e Office of the Comptroller Currency (OCC) is focusing on sustainable loan modifications and reducing foreclosures in the latest edition of the Community Developments Investments electronic newsletter, according to an announcement from the OCC. is edition of the newslettert titled, "Hardest Hit Fund: State Programs to Improve Loan Modification Sustainability and Stabilize Communities," is part of a group of resources made available to national banks and federal savings associations seeking information on foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization. e resources can be accessed through the OCC's website. e latest edition of the newsletter provides examples of how state financing agencies are implementing the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) Program, which was established as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by President Obama in February 2010 to provide targeted aid to families in states hit hard by the economic and housing crisis. e HHF Program evolved from a $1.5 billion initiative in five states to a $7.6 billion initiative in 18 states and the District of Columbia. e Hardest Hit Fund initiative provides funding to programs that provide locally- tailored foreclosure prevention solutions to the areas most affected by home price declines and high unemployment. Examples of implementing the Hardest Hit Fund in affected areas described in the newsletter include funding programs that provide underwater borrowers at risk of foreclosure with principal reduction in conjunction with loan modification, providing temporary mortgage assistance for borrowers who are unemployed, assisting in facilitating short sales, or offering money to pay off second liens. "ere is no single solution for increasing sustainable loan modifications and reducing foreclosures," Comptroller of the Currency omas J. Curry said. "is newsletter highlights one of the major federal initiatives, the Hardest Hit Fund, and features some of the collaborative programs that have allowed state housing finance agencies to implement solutions tailored to each area's situation." In an article for the newsletter titled, "Hardest Hit Fund Provides Locally Tailored Solutions for Struggling Homeowners," U.S. Department of Treasury Director of the Hardest Hit Fund Program Erin Quinn said as of March 2015, almost 230,000 homeowners received a combined $4.7 billion worth of assistance from the HHF Program, with an additional $300 million commended under various blight elimination programs. According to Quinn, mortgage payment and reinstatement assistance programs, in which housing finance agencies make monthly payments to the mortgagee on behalf of the borrower, have made up the vast majority of assistance provided. Also described in the newsletter are efforts to address low-value abandoned properties in a way that complements state housing finance agencies' work and how foreclosure prevention efforts and community stabilization activities may qualify to be considered by a bank in a Community Reinvestment Act examination. The U6 unemployment rate, which counts both people without work seeking full-time employment and those workers "marginally attached to the labor force and those working part-time for economic reasons," was 10.4 percent in July 2015, nearly 5 percentage points higher than the commonly-reported U3 unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. KNOW THIS