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 2019.
The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2019 showed 96.5 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, compared to 95.8 percent a year earlier.
The report also showed that servicers initiated 22,248 new foreclosures during the fourth quarter of 2019, a 3.5 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 24.6 percent decrease from a year ago. Servicers completed 13,147 mortgage modifications in the fourth quarter of 2019, and 78.2 percent of the modifications reduced borrowers’ monthly payments.
The first-lien mortgages included in the OCC’s quarterly report comprise 29.2 percent of all residential mortgages outstanding in the United States or approximately 15.7 million loans totaling $3.1 trillion in principal balances. This report provides information on mortgage performance through December 30, 2019, and it can be downloaded from the OCC’s website, www.occ.gov.