Attorney General Tom Miller and Mike Thompson, executive director of Iowa Mediation Service Inc., are scheduled to announce a new initiative to assist Iowa homeowners and lenders facing mortgage foreclosures at a news conference today at 11 a.m.

Iowa ranks fourth in the nation for the rate of subprime foreclosures at 8.63 percent, and the rate is expected to increase as adjustable rate mortgages adjust upward over the next two years. Foreclosures not only harm the borrowers and lending institutions, but can also drive down property values in the surrounding neighborhoods and harm the housing market.

To tackle the problem, Miller and Iowa Mediation Service will establish a system that will work with borrowers and lenders to avoid foreclosures, such as by modifying a loan. Since it was formed in 1985, Iowa Mediation Service, a nonprofit corporation, has handled more than 28,000 mediation requests ranging from farmer/creditor mediation to family and public policy mediation, with a 75 percent success rate.

The conference today will explain the process and give specific information for consumers about how the project will work, whether they should become involved and the toll-free number to call. It will take place in the attorney general’s office, second floor of the Hoover Building, Des Moines.

Visit www.businessrecord.com this afternoon for an update on the program.