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NEW YORK – In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave.

This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way, is one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions.

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Former homeowners may still be on the hook if there’s a difference between what they owed on their mortgage and what the bank could sell it for at auction. And these “deficiency judgments” are ticking time bombs that can explode years after borrowers lose their homes.

It can even happen to people who got their bank to approve them selling their home for less than it is worth.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The watchdog charged with monitoring the government’s $700 billion bailout unleashed one of his harshest criticisms of the program to date, questioning its overall effectiveness.

In his latest quarterly report to Congress, special inspector general Neil Barofsky said that the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, has failed to boost bank lending as well as halt the spread of foreclosures — two key aims of the sprawling program.

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Unlike the majority of banks closed this year, IBB did not take deposits from, or make loans to consumers. Instead, it offered a variety of services such as check clearing and credit card operations to community banks around the country that find it too costly to do this on their own.

The FDIC said it created a bridge bank to take over the operations of the Springfield Ill.-based institution.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — After balking at government imposed pay restrictions, American International Group’s chief executive Robert Benmosche has officially agreed to a $10.5 million non-compete contract, the company announced Tuesday.

Benmosche, who was named CEO in August, had expressed frustration with the constraints placed on AIG by the government after the global insurance company was bailed out last year.

He reportedly threatened to quit his post in board meetings earlier this month, before issuing a statement saying he is “totally committed” to staying on as CEO.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Some unemployed homeowners at risk for foreclosure could get a temporary break on their mortgage payments under a plan being pushed by the FDIC.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said on Friday it is encouraging certain banks to reduce mortgage payments for the unemployed or underemployed for at least six months.

Overall, relatively few of the unemployed will benefit from this recommendation because the effort would only apply to a handful of institutions.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The eagerly anticipated foreclosure prevention program unveiled Wednesday by President Obama targets 9 million borrowers for help – are you one of them?

The $75 billion effort, dubbed the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, boils down to two basic solutions:

First, the government is aiming to help more homeowners refinance to take advantage of new low interest rates.

Second, it provides incentives to lenders and servicers to restructure your mortgage to more affordable levels.

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The White House is considering a proposal to head off potentially millions more home foreclosures by using federal funds to buy up at-risk loans and then refinance them with more affordable terms.