The Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae, has joined hands with one of the country’s largest financial service companies to help homeowners affected by the BP oil spill.

The government sponsored enterprise and Citigroup said they will suspend or reduce mortgage payments for borrowers whose properties or incomes are severely affected by the environmental disaster. “We want to give homeowners every opportunity to weather this unprecedented disaster, including relief from their mortgage payment if that will help them get back on their feet and stay in their homes,” Fannie Mae president and chief executive officer Michael Williams said.

As part of the mortgage relief, which will take effect today until September 17, affected homeowners will get a 90-day reprieve from their mortgage payments. In addition, borrowers with first mortgage loans owned by CitiMortgage will neither receive foreclosure notifications nor be subjected to foreclosure sales. However, homeowners should meet certain criteria to qualify for the assistance program.

Fannie Mae and Citigroup’s announcement came as residents of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida reel from the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history. According to experts, about 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil have been seeping into the Gulf of Mexico since an explosion sank a BP deepwater drilling rig on April 20. Reports said the oil spill have already affected home values, as well as tourism and fishing industries in the four southern states.