They can bring invaluable technical capacity to plan and execute stabilization efforts. Banks can also support efforts to reuse REO properties by providing home loans to new homebuyers and by financing nonprofit entities and others for the acquisition and rehabilitation of REO properties.
In addition, they can help victims of foreclosure to rebuild their credit histories and thereby facilitate their re-entry into the economic mainstream. Finally, regulators should consider whether existing regulations regarding real estate held for extended periods of time on bank balance sheets act as an obstacle to creative solutions to the foreclosure problem.