The story states, "Brian D. Montgomery, the F.H.A. commissioner, attributed the unanticipated losses primarily to the agency's seller-financed down payment mortgage program, which has suffered from high delinquency and foreclosure rates in recent years.

Housing officials said the agency was also hurt by poor performance in its traditional mortgage portfolio. Deteriorating economic conditions led some of its core clients ? first-time buyers, minorities and lower-income owners ? to default, they said."

The article goes on to declare that the seller-financed down payment program, which was responsible for 35 percent of its loans in 2007, is the root of the greatest losses.

As a result, the F.H.A. commissioner, Brian D. Montgomery, wants to put a stop to the seller-financed down payment program.

Mr. Montgomery declares, "The mortgages had foreclosure rates three times those of traditional loans and would push the F.H.A. to the brink of insolvency."

Mr. Montgomery revealed that the FHA planned to reopen the comment period on a proposed rule to the Federal Register that would ban the program. However, the F.H.A. has tried to eliminate seller-financed down payment loans for years, and it's anyone's guess whether the FHA will be successful now.

Supporters of the loans, including some very powerful members of Congress, are adamant that the program provides much-needed assistance to low-income and minority families who wouldn't be able to buy homes in any other way.

Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has been and remains totally opposed to any F.H.A. rule that would eliminate the program. Regardless of whether Mr. Montgomery gets his way, or whether Mr. Frank's desire prevails, thankfully there are other types of down payment assistance available for first time home buyers besides seller-financed loans.