A mortgage banking company aims to provide mortgage protection to certain unemployed homebuyers in Washington, Oregon and Arizona. Cobalt Mortgage teamed-up with Rainy Day Foundation to establish Payment Assurance Plan. The plan provides mortgage protection, education and financial counseling for qualified homebuyers, up to $1,800 for up to six months. “We are hopeful that with the Payment Assurance Plan we can help prospective homeowners have the added confidence needed to take advantage of, in our opinion, a very unique opportunity to purchase a home today,” said Keith Tibbles, president at Cobalt. The companies say the homebuyers are not required to pay back the money allocated on their behalf. The initiative isn’t currently a large-scale one, per se, but it’s help for homebuyers nonetheless. Cobalt anticipates providing assistance to around 75 homebuyers in its first month. Write to Kelly Curran.