On way out, TARP watchdog takes a few more jabs at Timothy Geithner | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times

On way out, TARP watchdog takes a few more jabs at Timothy Geithner | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times: "In prepared testimony Wednesday before a House subcommittee on housing, Barofsky said the unpleasant truth about most HAMP loan modifications was not just that they failed but that, after trials stretching for many months, they left participants in worse financial shape than when they began.

It's a problem Geithner has refused to face, although the Treasury secretary has acknowledged that the incentives paid to loan servicers under HAMP 'have not been powerful enough,' Barofsky said in the testimony, which was posted online by the House Financial Services Committee.

Citing 'near universal agreement' that HAMP has failed to meet its goals, Barofsky noted that current debate centers 'on whether the program should be terminated, replaced or revamped.'

'Treasury, it seems, stands alone in defending the status quo,' he said."