Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Friday that the federal government “must accelerate loan modifications” and cited a “desperate need” for industry-wide standards to govern those alterations.

The White House is preparing to roll out its own plan to deal with foreclosures and the housing market, and some $50 billion in money from the Troubled Asset Recovery Program has been earmarked to help stanch foreclosures. President Barack Obama could outline further steps next week during a swing through Denver and Phoenix, where home prices fell by 33% in 2008, among the worst such declines in the nation.

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