Community banks involved in relatively few foreclosures

An investigative report by the Green Bay Press-Gazette shows that, of all foreclosures filed in Brown County, community banks are involved in only a handful. The paper’s research found that Wells Fargo was involved with 69 of 498 foreclosure filings in 2008 (13.9%), the highest of any single financial institution. The financial institution with the next highest number was Deutsche Bank with 38 filings (7.6%). US Bank was third on the list, with 33 filings (6.6%). The report makes no mention of the volume of loans made or serviced by national banks as compared to community banks.

The full report is available here.

The findings are similar to those in a report commissioned by Community Bankers of Wisconsin, an industry trade group, released in August of last year. The Community Bankers’ report found that, of the top dozen financial institutions commencing foreclosure actions in Wisconsin--accounting for 67% of all actions filed--all were headquartered outside the state. During the first half of 2008, the top five were Wells Fargo, US Bank, Deutsche Bank, Countrywide Home Loans and JP Morgan Chase Bank.

The full release is available here.