WASHINGTON D.C. - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday made available a new set of online interactive maps designed to provide a clearer, more localized view of where problem mortgages are. Type in a zip code and see the information. CLICK HERE for the story. CLICK HERE for the interactive map.
The maps, maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will be updated monthly. They provide a local look at conditions for the two categories of mortgage loans that are most in distress: subprime and alt-A mortgage loans. Subprime loans were given to borrowers with the weakest credit histories; alt-A mortgages were issued to borrowers whose credit is better than subprime but not quite good enough to be considered prime, or top quality. Lending in these two categories has virtually frozen as mortgage issuers won't make loans that can't be sold into a secondary market, where they're pooled with other mortgages into mortgage-backed bonds and sold to investors.
The maps, maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will be updated monthly. They provide a local look at conditions for the two categories of mortgage loans that are most in distress: subprime and alt-A mortgage loans. Subprime loans were given to borrowers with the weakest credit histories; alt-A mortgages were issued to borrowers whose credit is better than subprime but not quite good enough to be considered prime, or top quality. Lending in these two categories has virtually frozen as mortgage issuers won't make loans that can't be sold into a secondary market, where they're pooled with other mortgages into mortgage-backed bonds and sold to investors.
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