Since last spring, when President Barack Obama announced his administration’s plan to prevent foreclosures, there’s been a crush of homeowners seeking help from mortgage servicers. Confusion and delays have plagued the entire program, but the problems have been particularly acute for homeowners seeking a modification before they begin falling behind on their mortgage payments.

Some homeowners, like Regan Sciesinski of Florida, have been waiting as long as nine months with no relief. The Sciesinskis seem to be a prime candidate for a modification through the program. His wife, Stacy, was found to have breast cancer in late 2007, and in the past year, a combination of medical costs and reduced income have made their mortgage payments unaffordable for the couple, who have three children. Their home, in a suburb of Tampa, has also dropped about 25 percent in value since they bought it in 2006. Like millions of other homeowners, they’re underwater, stuck with mortgages worth more than the property.

Sciesinski says he first submitted his information to his servicer, Chase Home Finance, in March. He’s still waiting. Sciesinski says he and his wife have drained their retirement savings and accepted help from other family members to stay current. "We take our obligation seriously," he says, but now they’re facing default and need the modification "because having to move would completely devastate us."

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It was another busy Friday for regulators, as they closed seven banks, bringing this year’s total to 140. As always, we’ve updated our complete list of failed banks.

The failures figure to continue in 2010. FDIC Chair Sheila Bair said last month failures will “peak” next year. The FDIC’s recently announced budget for 2010 reflects that: In order the handle bank closings, the agency plans to add 1,600 temporary employees to its staff of about seven thousand. The FDIC said last month that its list of “problem” banks has risen to 552.

All told, Friday’s failures cost the FDIC about $1.8 billion. The agency earlier this year dealt with its deficit by arranging for insured banks to prepay three years of assessments in advance, which is expected to raise $45 billion.

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Three more banks failed on Friday, bringing the year's total to 133. The FDIC estimates Friday's failures will cost its insurance fund a combined $252.1 million. While the failures represent another hit to the FDIC's depleted fund, they are a boon to three companies that acquired the assets and deposits of the closed institutions.

The first to go for the day was Republic Federal Bank of Miami, Florida. The bank had total assets of approximately $433 million and deposits of approximately $352.7 million. 1st United Bank of Boca Raton assumed all the deposits of the failed bank, paying the FDIC a premium of 1.2 percent for them. It also purchased $267.1 million of the failed bank's assets including loans, cash and marketable investment securities.

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This week, the administration has been trumpeting the news that the $700 billion TARP is likely to ultimately cost much less than early estimates. That’s true, but far from the whole story.

The government’s best estimate, released Wednesday, is that the bailouts of AIG and the auto companies will ultimately cost taxpayers about $61 billion. It also forecast that other parts of the TARP will end up making taxpayers money. Put it all together, and the final estimated loss from the bailout’s first full year (thru September 2009) is about $41.6 billion.

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