The head of the U.S. Federal Housing Administration downplayed a coming budget estimate that is expected to show that the agency will need taxpayer aid for the first time since it was founded in the 1930s, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. FHA could avoid taking Treasury aid even if the budget President Barack Obama releases next month shows it has a shortfall, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. FHA will take additional steps this year to avoid foreclosures on loans that have defaulted and raise the fees it charges borrowers to insure their loans against default, Galante said. FHA has until Sept. 30 to determine whether it needs aid.
