The Citi With a Heart

Well, these days the US homeowner could certainly use some good news, with foreclosures soaring to new heights, and apparently little viable remedy in sight. But, CitiMortgage, obviously feeling generous because of a sweetheart deal struck with the IRS, is placing a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions for a thirty day period.

Here is their reasoning:

"We hope that with this suspension we can make the holidays a little less stressful for our customers who are going through a very difficult time," Sanjiv Das, president and CEO of CitiMortgage said in a statement. "And we will continue to look for meaningful ways to assist our customers experiencing hardship."

Citi will halt foreclosure sales and evictions on approximately 2,000 borrowers already in line for foreclosure sales as well as another 2,000 that would have received foreclosure notifications in the next 30 days.

Wow! Thirty days? Are you sure? That certainly takes the long term sting out of a household which has been turned upside down by the 'pit and pendulum' reality experienced daily by folks who may face sleeping in shelters, or perhaps losing their beloved pets as they search for adequate housing. For a growing number, 'tent cities' and shelters are the answer.

But this shouldn't concern the good folks at Citi. After all, they got a sweetheart deal with the government:

The Internal Revenue Service on Friday, December 18th, issued an exception to long-standing tax rules for the benefit of Citigroup and a few other companies partially owned by the government. As a result, Citigroup will be allowed to retain billions of dollars worth of tax breaks that otherwise would decline in value when the government sells its stake to private investors.

Nice investment, if you can get it.

So, as a gesture of goodwill, they are granting people thirty days to relax and enjoy the holidays. Are they serious? Do they have any inkling of the twisted anxiety going on in the bellies of all affected homeowners? Do they really expect families to start singing Christmas carols, and simply forget about the fact that an auction of their home will soon take place on their respective County Courthouse steps?

Get a clue, you feckless moneylenders. Following suit, but demonstrating less generosity, Fannie and Freddie have offered a two week respite from the madness. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, now get out!

Postponing the inevitability of eviction likely worsens the post traumatic stress which will follow these people the rest of their lives. Perhaps Citi ought to do everyone a favor and enact an en mass foreclosure. Get it over with.

Then, the rest of us can yearn for the days of Hooverville and the 'penny auctions,' where neighbors surrounded the foreclosed property, and allowed entrance to the auction to no one but the affected owner. Often the bid was one penny. Something to think about.