WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is unveiling a new program to provide support to state and local housing agencies to provide help to thousands of home buyers and renters.

The program will feature two parts — a new bond purchase program to support new lending by housing finance agencies and a temporary credit and liquidity program to improve access by housing agencies to credit sources for their existing bonds.

The new program will operate under a law that Congress passed in 2008 to bolster the housing industry, which has been battered by the worst slump in decades, a downturn that saw home sales and home prices plunge and mortgage defaults soar to record levels.

Rising losses from consumer and commercial loans dragged Bank of America Corp. (BAC) to a third quarter loss of $1 billion despite impressive trading and investment banking revenues, which were helped in part by the Charlotte bank’s purchase last year of Merrill Lynch & Co.

Bank of America’s report holds signs of hope for the banking industry, which is struggling to hold down losses as rising unemployment and a U.S. economic recession have followed a nationwide slide in housing prices.

The bank’s credit card business took permanent losses of $6.5 billion from bad debt – a hefty amount, but about equal with last quarter. The bank also withdrew cash from its account for future loan losses tied to credit cards, instead of adding to the reserve, which suggests the bank expects troubles with its credit card accounts to begin slowing in the near future.