It's the bank's latest effort to help recently unemployed homeowners who've fallen behind on their mortgage payments save their homes.

Citi's Homeowner Unemployment Assist program allows borrowers to skip interest and principal payments for up to three months.

The interest will be forgiven, and any unpaid principal will be due when the loan is paid off.

The only thing borrowers who qualify for the plan must continue to pay is the monthly contribution to their escrow account, which covers taxes and insurance. (That's an average cost of $500.)

To qualify for the program, you must:

Be unemployed. You must have involuntarily lost your job within the last six months.

Be 60 days or more late with your mortgage payment. If your home has already entered into the foreclosure process, Citi will stop foreclosure proceedings immediately.

Be living in the home. Investment properties don't qualify.

Have borrowed less than $417,000. Jumbo loans don't qualify.

Have a Citi-owned mortgage. Just because you send your mortgage check to Citi doesn't mean it owns the mortgage. It manages hundreds of thousands of loans owned by other banks and investors.

Have enough money to make the reduced payments. If you land a job within the three-month extension period, you'll be expected to resume your original monthly payments immediately.

If your new job pays less than your old one, Citi will consider a long-term loan modification under the bank's Homeowner Assistance program.

That would reduce the monthly payments to no more than 38% of your pretax income by reducing the interest rate, extending the length of the loan and potentially forgiving some of the principal.

If you're still unemployed after three months, Citi will review your finances to see if you qualify for further assistance.

To find out if you're eligible to participate. call 1-800-283-7918 or go to Citi's Office of Homeownership Preservation.