Story triggers response from bank

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/2719830121

Last week on Crosscurrents, I reported about a homeowner who had been waiting for about 9 months to get a loan modification from Chase. When I met him, about a week before the story aired, it seemed his modification was on the verge of being approved. A representative of Chase assured him, "Right now the best thing to do is just hang in there for a few more days, and hopefully we’ll know something very soon."

On the day the report aired, he was still waiting for final word from the bank.

Two days later, I received a note from the borrower's counselor, Zack Mack-Westrom, of the nonprofit San Francisco Housing Development Corporation.

"I got a call from a Securitized Collections Manager (a Ms. Tasha Siedzik) at Chase who saw that my name was mentioned in the radio piece, and wanted to offer assistance in obtaining a response," he wrote.

Mack-Westrom said he expected to hear back from the representative today.

"I find Chase’s timeliness in reaching out to me encouraging, and it appears as though the radio spot has had the effect of them trying to mitigate any perceived public relations issues."