*  *  *  I am delighted to have been invited to speak to you about the important and pressing problems in the subprime mortgage market. My remarks today will address those problems, with particular focus on how they are affecting borrowers.
The sharp increases in subprime mortgage loan delinquencies and foreclosures this year have created personal, economic, and social distress for many homeowners and communities. I will discuss first the forces that caused that distress and then turn to the prospects for troubled borrowers.