The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported a slight improvement in the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the third quarter of 2018.
The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Third Quarter 2018, showed 95.4 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, compared to 94.8 percent a year earlier.
The report also showed that servicers initiated 28,508 new foreclosures during the third quarter of 2018, a 3.7 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 16.8 percent decrease from a year ago. Servicers implemented 25,701 mortgage modifications in the third quarter of 2018, and 69.2 percent of the modifications reduced borrowers’ monthly payments.
The first-lien mortgages included in the OCC’s quarterly report comprise 32 percent of all residential mortgages outstanding in the United States or approximately 17.2 million loans totaling $3.26 trillion in principal balances. This report provides information on mortgage performance through September 30, 2018, and it can be downloaded from the OCC’s website, www.occ.gov.