Foreclosures: We’re not done yet

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A cast of bureaucratic characters is taking its place today before the House Financial Services Committee to discuss how to stem the rising tide of foreclosures, Thomson Financial reports. And the tide is doing nothing but rise. According to Undersecretary of Treasury for Domestic Finance Robert Steel, we can expect to see above-normal foreclosure rates for the next 18 months.

‘A rising foreclosure rate during a housing downturn is not surprising, but largely because of lax underwriting in recent years, especially in the sub-prime market, a higher-than-usual number of homeowners will face delinquency during the next year and a half,’ Steel testified.

I wonder what the unsurprised undersecretary was doing when all this lax underwriting was going on?

Speaking for the Bush administration, Steel is urging Congress to pass three pending bills that would give a bit of lifeline to troubled homeowners but stop short of a full-court bailout or tough industry reforms.

Is some kind of legislation better than nothing?

Thoughts?