Citi expands effort to help homeowners, but what can they really do?

Citibank announced today the Citi Homeowner Assistance program. Under the program the bank would preemptively contact some 500,000 mortgage holders -- involving $20 billion of mortgage balances -- to try to ensure that they can pay their loans and stay in their homes.

So I understand that they are contacting them, but what will they actually do? The fed needs to make banks lower their mortgage rates. The fed funds rate, prime rate and libor rate have all come down...why not mortgage rates?

The $700 billion bailout plan is not getting in the hands of the individuals. Banks are hoarding the money and using it to buy other banks, not right. The federal government needs to restrict this. Citizens of the US are paying for lending intstitutions to buy up other banks so they get stronger. That was NOT the intention of this bailout.