Treasury Picks Ocwen For Foreclosure Mitigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government has named a seventh mortgage company to participate in a $75 billion program designed to help millions of struggling homeowners escape foreclosure.

The Treasury Department said Monday that Ocwen Financial Corp. Inc. of West Palm Beach, Fla., had been selected to participate and would receive up to $659 million.

Ocwen joins six companies named last week to participate in the program. All seven companies have been allocated up to a total of $10.6 billion in incentive payments.

Those payments are designed to encourage mortgage companies to lower borrowers' monthly bills. The largest amount allocated so far was $3.6 billion to Chase Home Finance, part of JPMorgage Chase & Co.

The home finance program was unveiled on March 4. It will offer struggling homeowners the chance to obtain modified loans with lower monthly payments. It is being funded with $50 billion from the government's $700 billion financial rescue program and another $25 billion from other government sources.