BALTIMORE - FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said today she is "still hopeful" of using federal bailout money to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

"The issue is whether it’s an appropriate use of (Treasury bailout) funds or not, we think it is," Bair said in a breakfast speech hosted by the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. "We think it’s a good investment and so we are meeting with both Congress and the Secretary of the Treasury on that still."