The share of current, performing mortgages improved slightly at national banks and federal thrifts in the fourth quarter of last year (compared to the year before), reaching 95.8%, their federal regulator said last week.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said in the same period of 2017, current and performing mortgages were 94.5%.
However, the Friday report also showed that foreclosures – which were down at the end of the 2018 fourth quarter by 14.5% from the previous period in 2017 – inched higher compared with the previous quarter. The OCC said mortgage servicers initiated 29,515 new foreclosures during the fourth quarter of 2018, up 3.5% from the previous quarter.
On the other hand, the OCC reported that mortgage servicers completed 20,256 mortgage modifications in the fourth quarter of 2018, with about three in four (73.2%) reducing borrowers’ monthly payments.
First-lien mortgages at national banks and federal thrifts make up 31% of all residential mortgages outstanding – approximately 16.9 million loans totaling $3.22 trillion in principal balances, the OCC said.
OCC Reports Mortgage Performance Improves in Fourth Quarter of 2018