US housing chiefs push lenders to expand aid

WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - Senior U.S. housing officials and leading mortgage companies met on Tuesday to set explicit goals for preventing evictions and develop a plan that would improve foreclosure-prevention efforts.

Officials from the Treasury Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development said they hope to see the terms of 500,000 borrowers eased by November.

Michael Barr, the Treasury assistant secretary for financial institutions, helped host a 90-minute meeting with representatives from 25 of the largest servicers.

Since late February, about 200,000 troubled borrowers have seen their mortgage costs lowered under President Barack Obama's effort to halt a crisis of record foreclosures.

"Today's meeting was an opportunity to identify ways to accelerate the program and bring relief faster," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement. (Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Andrea Ricci)