If mortgage companies start to feel like they're losing elbow room, it's probably because they're starting to get nudged by the Obama administration. The folks in the White House are planning to kick off a campaign to squeeze mortgage companies to lower payments for even more borrowers who are in trouble. The $75 billion program, financed by taxpayers, to keep homeowners from falling into default appears to be in trouble.

Mortgage lenders have increased their efforts to modify borrowers' mortgages, but most of them are still in a trial stage, which will last up to five months. Only a handful have been made permanent, which isn't good enough for Washington. The Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial institutions, Michael S. Barr, told the New York Times, "The banks are not doing a good enough job," continuing, "Some of the firms ought to be embarrassed, and they will be."

If Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) can't borrow everything it needs to get back on its feet, perhaps people opening savings accounts at the mortgage bank will do the trick. According to The Wall Street Journal, Countrywide is pulling in deposits of $50 million a day. The paper writes the "company is counting on deposit growth to provide funding for its mortgage lending."

Because of the success of getting deposits from individuals, Countrywide will increase the number of branches where people can open savings accounts.

There is no doubting the troubles that the company has been through. It is in the process of cutting 12,000 jobs.

And, that's what does not make sense about the pace of new deposits. One would think that people would avoid putting money will a bank that has been in so much trouble and whose woes have been on the front page of every newspaper.

Either there is a sucker born every minute, or Countrywide is giving away very nice toasters for every new deposit.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

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