Related Consumer Finance Programs - The following lists of companies and financial service providers offer services to assist you with handling your debts. Combine debt with a consolidation loan or use a credit counseling or debt relief program for help with lowering your payments and getting your credit card bills and other obligations under control.

• Debt Management Counseling - Do you feel that your credit card bills are stacking up with nowhere for you to turn? Your problem is not unique. Signing up with debt management firm may be the right solution to your debt problems. Review different firms offering these services to determine if this is the correct option for you.
• Debt Settlement Services - If you have too many credit cards and other small debts and are unable to make your payments, this form of debt negotiation may be right for you.
• Debt Consolidation Help - Do you simply have too many credit cards and other bills? Review this directory for useful information and compare a list of service providers that may be able to help you.

Attention ARM Borrowers: Contact Your Lender Before Higher Payments Put Your Home at Risk

Homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) who are not able to make their monthly payment when the interest rate goes up should contact their lenders as soon as possible to discuss their options. That is among the main messages from the FDIC and other banking regulators for the millions of borrowers who have ARMs with very low payments in the early years of the loan that will sharply increase when interest rates reset.

Defaulting on a home loan means you can lose your home. The lender has the right to foreclose – to sell your home to raise money to pay off your debt – if you default. You would also severely damage your credit record, making it more difficult to borrow money or get a job or insurance in the future. Consider these steps to avoid that result.

Ask about refinancing or restructuring: While many lenders and loan servicers (companies that accept borrower payments and help administer escrow accounts) are writing or calling customers who face big rate increases about the possibility of refinancing or restructuring their loans, "I would encourage borrowers who anticipate having difficulty making payments to take the initiative and seek assistance even if they have not been contacted," FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair told the House Financial Services Committee on April 17, 2007.

That same day, the FDIC and other federal regulatory agencies issued a statement encouraging financial institutions to "work with homeowners who are unable to make mortgage payments," by modifying loan terms or moving borrowers from variable-rate loans to fixed-rate loans that may be available at a lower monthly cost.

FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.

Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.

To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Last updated on 5/08/2007

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