##prime mortgage conditions in the united states. " for example, a user can choose to view key foreclosure measures such as " foreclosures per 1000 housing units, " " share arms, " and other factors. the maps drill down from national - level data to zip code level. they also depict factors such as " share of low fico and high ltv " and " share late payment in last 12 months " that may help to predict which areas are most likely to experience higher rates of foreclosures. finally, the federal reserve is providing, via downloadable files, the data supporting the maps, as well as data for scores of other loan - performance variables at the state, metropolitan area, and county levels. by making more data and information on emerging trends available to key local leaders, financial institutions, and community organizations, our aim is to improve the efficiency of their efforts to rebuild neighborhoods. the federal reserve system has also established a working group of economists and community development experts in order to coordinate system research efforts. this working group will monitor developments in the mortgage markets and study how these developments may affect individual borrowers and neighborhoods. currently, the group is assessing existing research on house prices, mortgages, and foreclosures, with the goal of identifying important analytical gaps. the federal reserve system conducts outreach and education efforts through its regular contact with financial institutions and market intermediaries, as well as through its network of community affairs staff members who work with communities to identify trends and issues affecting low - and moderate - income neighborhoods. this communication with both financial markets and communities allows the federal reserve to act as a bridge between the two groups and between local communities and the organizations that provide community resources, such as credit counselors. for many borrowers who are behind on their mortgage payments, refinancing their loan is not an option. therefore, the federal reserve is engaged in a number of efforts to encourage the use of loss - mitigation tools by lenders, servicers, and not - for - profit organizations that help individual borrowers resolve delinquency issues. the cost of foreclosure is high for everyone involved ; estimates of the direct losses resulting from a foreclosure range from one - fifth to one - half the principal balance of a mortgage loan. 3 with these costs in mind, the federal reserve, together with the other federal banking agencies, has issued guidance urging lenders and servicers to pursue workout arrangements, when

response to the challenges resulting from foreclosures the federal reserve views the current high rate of mortgage foreclosures as an urgent problem, and we are addressing the issue on many fronts : we are contributing to initiatives already underway at the local and national level, as well as collaborating with other regulators, community groups, policy organizations, financial institutions, and public officials in an effort to identify ways to prevent unnecessary foreclosures and the associated negative effects on local communities. we are also leveraging the decentralized structure of the federal reserve system, which consists of the board of governors in washington, d. c., and the twelve federal reserve banks that each represent a distinct region of the country. this structure enables us to gather information and tailor responses to foreclosure issues at the local level, while using our collective experience to address regional and national policy issues. in addition, the federal reserve uses its considerable analytic resources to conduct research at the national level, which the reserve banks can disseminate to local community groups, counseling agencies, financial institutions, and others who are working to help troubled borrowers and communities. timely analysis of data and other available information is critical to crafting appropriate remedies to any problem. to that end, the federal reserve recently helped neighborworks america identify those regions and neighborhoods throughout the country that are most at risk for higher rates of foreclosure and would therefore benefit from an increased capacity to provide mortgage counseling. using this analysis, neighborworks america in february awarded $ 130 million in newly granted funds from congress to thirty - two state housing finance agencies, eighty - two community - based neighborworks organizations, and sixteen counseling intermediaries approved by the department of housing and urban development ( hud ). the federal reserve has recently made available on its public website detailed reports identifying neighborhoods that have especially high concentrations of foreclosures. these data – in the form of dynamic maps and other data – illustrate the regional variation in the condition of securitized, owner - occupied subprime and alt - a mortgage loans across the united states. 2 local leaders can access these reports and work with community affairs staff at the local reserve banks to more effectively address foreclosure problems. kristopher gerardi, adam hale shapiro, and paul willen ( 2008 ), " subprime outcomes : risky mortgages, homeownership experiences, and foreclosures, " federal reserve bank of boston. " dynamic maps of non