STEVE INSKEEP, Host: Once you're suitably hydrated, let's move on to the major business story we're following this morning. It's the latest effort to prop up the mortgage market. The federal government is proposing fresh credit lines and other steps to help Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those are the giant companies that keep the housing market moving and make it possible for banks to lend more and more in mortgages. The weekend activity was just one of the steps the Federal Reserve is taking. Today the Fed issued new Truth in Lending rules. They are intended to protect homebuyers and also promote responsible lending. NPR's Curt Nickisch has more.</s>CURT NICKISCH: Unidentified Woman (Translator): When she expressed her concern, he said do not worry, you are going to only pay $2,000 per month.</s>CURT NICKISCH: The new package of rules from the Fed requires banks and mortgage brokers to verify that buyers can afford the payments, including the higher ones that come later with adjustable rates. It also restricts the huge fees some people have to pay to refinance.</s>CHIP CASE: After a train wreck, you reduce the speed limits.</s>CURT NICKISCH: That's Chip Case. He's a housing market specialist at Wellesley College. He's normally not a fan of increased regulation, but he thinks these changes are important.</s>CHIP CASE: One of the things this is designed to do is to give borrowers a little more confidence, and to give people who supply the capital to purchase these mortgages a little more confidence, and quickly.</s>CURT NICKISCH: Curt Nickisch, NPR News.
The Federal Reserve Bank is expected to issue new rules Monday under the Truth in Lending Act. The goal is to protect homebuyers and to establish limits that will help revive the housing market.