WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the text of an annoucement
Thursday by the Federal Reserve:

The Federal Reserve System will sponsor a national summit on
September 1 and 2 to discuss methods and resources for encouraging
neighborhood stabilization in the aftermath of the U.S. home mortgage
foreclosure crisis. The forum will showcase findings from Federal
Reserve research and policy efforts, including the release of the
publication REO and Vacant Properties: Strategies for Neighborhood
Stabilization.

People living in communities with vacant properties face declining
property values, loss of public services due to reduced tax revenue, and
increased levels of crime. The summit will examine practical and tested
strategies that nonprofit organizations, local and regional governments,
federal officials, and lenders can use to mitigate the impact of vacant
and real estate owned (REO) property — property held on the books of
banks, typically after failure to sell at foreclosure auction. “A
foreclosure not only hurts the person who loses their home, it hurts
their neighbors and their communities,” said Federal Reserve Governor
Elizabeth A. Duke. “As delinquencies and foreclosures continue to
increase, we must think creatively and focus our research, outreach, and
community development efforts on ways to help these communities
recover.”

Summit speakers include Governor Duke; U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan; Federal Reserve Bank
Presidents Charles Evans (Chicago), Sandra Pianalto (Cleveland), and
Eric Rosengren (Boston); and representatives of various sectors involved
in the foreclosure process and community stabilization efforts. Live
video of the event will be available online at:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/federalreserve.

The summit and its accompanying publication build upon a series of
Federal Reserve System actions to address the foreclosure crisis on a
national and community level. These actions range from facilitating
foreclosure counseling to providing research and data analysis of REO
trends. The Reserve Banks will carry forward this work by offering
technical assistance and expertise to local nonprofit organizations and
governments.

Many conference participants are also contributors to the summit
publication REO and Vacant Properties: Strategies for Neighborhood
Stabilization, which contains 17 articles that examine a variety of
neighborhood stabilization issues. The collection highlights both areas
of need–such as for data, technology, and collaboration–and promising
solutions, such as the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, land bank that holds
vacant properties until they can be returned to productive use, and
Boston Community Capitals efforts to purchase foreclosed properties and
sell them back to former owners or tenants using a licensed mortgage
affiliate.

The summit will be held at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington,
D.C. Additional information is available on the conference website:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/events/conferences/2010/reovpsns/default.htm

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MMUFE$,MGU$$$,M$$CR$,M$$AG$]