land bank ’ s portfolio, foreclosed properties can be physically rehabilitated, rented, sold to new owner - occupants or responsible investors, or, in some cases, demolished. using this kind of mechanism, a community can gain control of vacant properties and keep them from causing problems for the surrounding neighborhood until market conditions are more conducive to redevelopment or sale. land banks are just one example of the new approaches to housing issues that are being pursued across the country, many with the assistance of the neighborhood stabilization program ( nsp ) administered by the department of housing and urban development. the nsp program offers some funding to tackle these issues, but it also provides a structure to bring community stakeholders together to identify the best strategies for addressing foreclosures given the particular circumstances of each community. whether a community decides to purchase and rehabilitate homes for resale, demolish vacant homes, or create land banks to help control the destiny of these properties, the collaborative problem - solving approach used by nsp is one that can make the most of limited resources. neighborhood stabilization is doubtless the precursor to community development in some communities and, in recognition of this, the federal banking agencies amended cra regulations to specifically recognize neighborhood stabilization activities in designated nsp see thomas j. fitzpatrick iv ( 2010 ), “ how modern land banking can be used to solve reo acquisition problems, ” in reo and vacant properties : strategies for neighborhood stabilization ( pdf ), proceedings of the conference, reo and vacant properties : strategies for neighborhood stabilization, cosponsored by the federal reserve banks of boston and cleveland and the federal reserve board ( washington : federal reserve board of governors ), pp. 145 – 50. bis central bankers ’ speeches areas as appropriate for cra consideration. 2 in addition, the federal reserve has identified and shared a number of promising practices for dealing with foreclosed and vacant homes. 3 while some cities are pioneering with land banks, others, such as cleveland, detroit, and baltimore, are using data to plan for the future in ways that city governments wouldn ’ t have imagined just a few years ago. partnering with local foundations, universities, and community organizations, these cities are collecting extensive property data to identify neighborhood assets and build on those strengths. 4 in phoenix, local officials and non - profits are partnering with local realtors to match families with affordable homes for sale. unemployment the foreclosure crisis that resulted from unsustainable subprime lending has

of supervision. as see countries aspire to eventual eu membership, the european commission has been particularly active in the region both in providing technical assistance and in monitoring progress in financial sector reform. as regards technical assistance, the european commission ’ s main instrument is the twinning programs financed by the phare and cards facilities. twinning programs are particularly useful since each beneficiary country determines its specific needs and is subsequently able to choose the one that best meets its requirements among the proposals submitted. twinning programs also help to establish close working relationships between the authorities of recipient countries and those of the eu countries which provide technical assistance. the ecb has also provided technical assistance to see countries through various channels such as short - term missions, conferences and internships. ecb assistance was given in the fields of money and banking statistics, payment and settlement systems and financial stability as well as in other fields which fall outside the scope of my presentation. moreover, the ecb, acting as co - ordinator of eurosystem projects, is currently working on a number of projects in the region, including the finalisation of plans for a 6 - month cards funded project to bosnia and herzegovina. apart from these commission and ecb initiatives, technical assistance has been provided to see countries on a bilateral basis by the financial sector authorities of individual eu countries, usually through less formal ad hoc arrangements focusing on specific areas where particular see countries require expertise. finally, the memoranda of understanding concluded between the banking supervisory authorities of eu countries and those of the see countries provide for regular meetings to discuss supervisory principles and practices and, in some cases, include specific provisions for co - operation in staff training. in most see countries, the basic legal and regulatory framework for the financial sector is now in place and largely conforms with international standards. nevertheless, there are differences between see countries as regards the state of development of financial sector regulation and supervision. generally, there is a positive relationship between progress in these areas and how far each country has moved along the path leading to eu membership. as bulgaria and romania are acceding countries and turkey, croatia and fyrom are eu - candidate countries, they have generally made greater progress in adopting the acquis communautaire in the financial sector compared to the remaining see countries, which are in various stages of the stabilisation and association process. as a rule, in see countries the legal and regulatory framework and the implementation and enforcement capabilities of the supervisory authorities are more developed