The number of borrowers who have obtained a permanent loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program more than doubled last month and will likely exceed 100,000 soon. Citigroup Inc.’s mortgage unit jumped to the front of the pack in HAMP performance.
As of Nov. 30, only 31,382 HAMP modifications had been made permanent.
But data released today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury indicated that the number of permanent HAMPÂ modifications jumped to 66,465 as of Dec. 31. In addition, another 46,056 permanent modifications are pending.
“Treasury is committed to working with servicers and borrowers to sustain this improved pace,” Chief of Treasury’s Homeownership Preservation Office Phyllis Caldwell said in a statement.
The government attributed the improved performance to recent on-site visits to servicers by administration officials and a temporary review period for declined HAMP modifications that is in effect until Jan. 31.
An estimated 3,356,844 loans that are 60 days delinquent are eligible for the federal program. Trial plans have been offered to 1,164,507 borrowers, while 902,620 trial HAMP modifications have been started.
Leading the improvement in last month’s performance was CitiMortgage Inc. Of the O’Fallen, Mo.-based lender’s 241,981 HAMP-eligible borrowers, 47 percent have either started a trial modification or completed a permanent modification.
At Saxon Mortgage Services Inc., 46 percent of its 72,709 HAMP-eligible borrowers have converted, while the rate was 44 percent for GMACÂ Mortgage Inc.’s 69,281 eligible borrowers.
The third-best rate was at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, NA, where 36 percent of its 424,965 eligible borrowers had started or completed a HAMPÂ modification. No. 4 Select Portfolio Servicing had a 35 percent penetration rate, while No. 5 Aurora Loan Services LLC’s rate was 34 percent.
The worst performance was at Franklin Credit Management Corp. — where none of its 9,557 HAMP-eligible borrowers had started a trial plan or completed a modification.
