Reports by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision presented mixed signals of improvement and distress

* U.S. loan modifications up 55 pct in Q1 from Q4
* Seriously delinquent mortgages up 9 pct in Q1 from Q4
* Foreclosures in process up 22 pct in Q1 from Q4

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The pace of home loan modifications shot up during the first quarter, but so did mortgage payment delinquencies and foreclosures, U.S. bank regulators said on Tuesday. The quarterly report on mortgage metrics showed that the quality of modifications improved, with more than half of them resulting in lower monthly principal and interest payments.

But the report released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision presented mixed signals of improvement and distress as rising unemployment and other economic pressures weighed on borrowers.

"While I'm very concerned about the rise in delinquent mortgages and foreclosure actions, the shift in emphasis by servicers to more sustainable, payment-reducing modifications is a positive step that should show significant benefits in the coming months," Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said in a statement.

As the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable loan modification plan gains traction, he said, regulators will continue to see progress in future reports. more ...

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan Address Chicago Conference on State and Local Housing Policy

June 30, 2009

Secretary Donovan delivered a speech at the Solutions for Working Families: 2009 Learning Conference on State and Local Housing Policy in Chicago. Following is an excerpt. The full text is available from the Chicago Sun-Times here.

And our work continues with the President's Making Home Affordable plan. Nearly a million homeowners have received information about the plan and participating services have extended offers on nearly a quarter-million trial modifications so far. Over the next few months, we expect these numbers to grow significantly, and we already have some early signs that the overall housing market is recovering.

But as we work to help our economy recover and put a halt to foreclosures, we are also laying the foundation for sustainable growth.

We have made the highest amount of competitive funds available in HUD's history through the Recovery Act - encouraging state and local governments to develop new and innovative ways to improve public housing, rebuild communities, and increase energy efficiency.

One of the most important competitive investments in the Recovery Act is the additional $2 billion we've invested in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and convert foreclosed and abandoned properties into new affordable housing, land banks, or other options that preserve neighborhoods.

These competitive funds will not only turn foreclosed properties into homes again, but also ensure that communities go about the rehabilitation and purchase process in a smart, collaborative, and, above all, sustainable way.

Chase modifies 138,000 mortgages

June 30, 2009 - Business First of Louisville

Chase bank has approved 138,000 trial mortgage modifications since the federal government implemented the Making Home Affordable program on April 6.

The figure includes 87,100 modifications through the Making Home Affordable program and another 50,900 through its own mortgage-modification program. more ...

Protesters demand mortgage help from loan firms

June 30, 2009 - by Kathy Matheson - Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA—Several key mortgage companies that benefited from federal bailout funds have yet to sign onto the Obama administration's plan to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure.

The community group ACORN held 15 protests around the country Tuesday to draw attention to the slow progress of the administration's plan, which was launched four months ago. Demonstrators called for the companies, including Litton Loan Servicing, HomEq and OneWest, to sign onto the Obama administration $75 billion initiative called "Making Home Affordable." more ...

Advocates say housing aid doesn't go far enough

Minnesota Public Radio reports that homeowners are having difficulty receiving timely loan modificaitons, even under the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable program. The report, which aired on All Things Considered, quotes a University of Minnesota law professor who advocates for a more robust and systematic implementation of loan modifications for struggling homeowners:

"Here is what needs to happen," he says, "we need to stop talking about this and we need the government to come in with a clear set of mandates, clearly enforced with transparent rules. If we have that, we are going to have real loan modifications happen in a systemic way."

Cox says modifying or refinancing more loans is critical now, because keeping foreclosures from flooding the market and continuing to drive down home prices is the only way to stabilize the economy.

The full report is available here.

Two earlier Pubic Radio reports also profiled homeowners who were having difficulty obtaining loan modifications:

Homeowners Find Mortgage Program Not So Easy
All Things Considered, June 9, 2009

Homeowners Find Loan Modification Slow Going
Morning Edition, May 7, 2009

And here is a link to the initial report from Public Radio covering the launch of the Making Home Affordable program in March:

Obama Announces Home Affordability Program
Morning Edition, March 5, 2009

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.

Marion: Former judge and PSC official now working to ease foreclosure mess

June 19, 2009 - by Brian E. Clark - For WisBusiness.com

Ed Marion, former state Public Service Commission general counsel and administrative law judge, lauds Iowa County Judge (and former Madison mayor) Bill Dyke for instituting a mediation program in his county.

“Judge Dyke is the first and I believe the only Wisconsin judge who has instituted a mandatory form of foreclosure mediation program that requires people who are faced with foreclosure and lenders to sit down with an attorney mediator and try to mediate a resolution,” he says.

Marion, who's helping with the effort, says the first foreclosure mediations started in June. He notes Milwaukee and Dane County judges are considering similar programs. more ...