A handful of lenders have received a new round of financing aimed at paying for foreclosure counseling and filling gaps for area borrowers who have fallen behind on mortgage payments.

The $200,000 grant is coming from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, with the money being awarded to housing advocates and seven lenders with loans in the Dayton area. First launched in 2008, the program provides up to $1,000 per case for foreclosure counseling as well as up to $2,500 to help a delinquent borrower get caught up on their house payment.

Beth Deutscher, executive director of the Home Ownership Center of Greater Dayton, said her organization also will be asking other eligible financial institutions to participate in the program.

Any lender that is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank is eligible to participate, said John Byczkowski, a spokesman for the bank.

The Home Ownership Center will use a portion of the funds to pay for foreclosure counseling. Lenders participating in the program include Day Air Credit Union Inc., Fifth Third Bank, Liberty Savings Bank, National City Bank, River Valley Credit Union Inc. and Universal 1 Credit Union Inc.

Foreclosures don’t help the lender, either.

“The worst thing we can do is take someone’s home,” said Tim Mislansky, a senior vice president with Wright-Patt Credit Union.

During a typical foreclosure process, a lender can spend up to $10,000 in legal fees and other costs, Mislansky said. And once a bank or credit union sells a seized home, it usually fetches 30 percent less than its value, he said.

William Burke, president and chief executive of Day Air Credit Union, said working with delinquent borrowers through loan modifications and other actions benefits his organization. In addition to legal fees, a lender also ends up saddled with such costs as insurance and property maintenance when they foreclose on a home.

“We just don’t want to hold properties,” he said.