Countrywide Financial Corp. and several affiliates have agreed to make $6 million available to borrowers after marketing the kind of high-risk mortgages blamed, in part, for throwing the nation into recession. According to the Northern Colorado Business Report, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers (pictured) announced the settlement, including $500,000 to help expand the state's foreclosure hotline (1-877-601-4673). Countrywide will help borrowers in default or facing foreclosure save their homes by fast-tracking changes to get customers out of loans with high interest rates. They could get deals as low as 3.5 percent for five years, according to the Pueblo Chieftain, which notes about 6,800 homeowners could benefit. Meanwhile, News2 reports that thousands of Coloradans still face foreclosure, and state 
Representative Mark Ferrandino, a Denver Democrat, wants to do something about it. He's introduced a bill that would grant a 90-day timeout to those facing foreclosure so that they can work with lenders.