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 fourth quarter of 2018.
The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2018, showed 95.8 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, compared to 94.5 percent a year earlier.
The report also showed that servicers initiated 29,515 new foreclosures during the fourth quarter of 2018, a 3.5 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 14.5 percent decrease from a year ago. Servicers completed 20,256 mortgage modifications in the fourth quarter of 2018, and 73.2 percent of the modifications reduced borrowers’ monthly payments.
The first-lien mortgages included in the OCC’s quarterly report comprise 31 percent of all residential mortgages outstanding in the United States or approximately 16.9 million loans totaling $3.22 trillion in principal balances. This report provides information on mortgage performance through December 31, 2018, and it can be downloaded from the OCC’s website, www.occ.gov.