Banking News: Citibank (NYSE: C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Boosts Mortgage Modifications in September
A new report released last week by the U.S. Treasury Department showed that Citibank (NYSE: C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), as well as a loan servicer which was part of the now defunct Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ) have made good progress during the month of September in making modifications for delinquent borrowers under the government’s foreclosure prevention program.
The Treasury Department has been pushing loan service providers to make modifications to delinquent and otherwise troubled mortgages under the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which the government launched last February in hope of stemming the increasing number of foreclosures across the nation.
Under the HAMP program, the Treasury pays borrowers and loan services, including banks that received large amounts of government support through the various bailouts, to agree to loan modifications.
According to the report, Citibank Mortgage started trial modifications for 1/3rd of its delinquent borrowers that the Treasury believes qualify under the program. At the end of August, Citi had made modifications for just 23% of borrowers eligible for the HAMP program.
Wells Fargo has modified a total of 62,989 loans under HAMP through the month of September, or about 20% of its total number of delinquent borrowers. This is approximately double what Wells Fargo had done by the month of August, when it had made modifications for 33,172 loans, or about 11% of eligible loans.
Aurora Loan Services, which was previously the originator of mortgage loans for Lehman Brothers, is still owned by the bankrupt holding company. Although the company’s future ownership is uncertain, it has still made modifications for about 24,000 borrowers or 33% of borrowers that are eligible. At the end of August, Aurora had made modifications for 22% of borrowers that qualify under the program.
Many have criticized banks for being slow to act to make modifications to loans under HAMP, but the sheer number of loans that need modifications has required banks to take on and train more employees to handle all of the modifications necessary. The program also requires borrowers to take initiative on their own to make the modification happen, and some customers have not done that yet.




We modified our loan 6 months ago with Citi. Now we are receiving bills for deliquincy fees when all those fees were supposedly rolled into the loan when it closed. Keep in mind our loan never really entered foreclosure. We've been fortunate in that our financial posiiton took a change for the better, (borrowed from a 401 k and sold assets) however there are so many obstacles (taxes) and loopholes (contracts) that place the consumer at the mercy of these banks that a lot of people will most likely modify and get surprised at some point in the future because of a lack of supervision of the industry and these modifications. Citi seems more interested in pushing foreclosure than getting monthly payments.
The banks are o wanting to do loan mods. They want to foreclose they will bundle up foreclosures and sit tight and sell to the investors for a song and the economy will bounce back slowy but it will and bingo investors and banks are super super rich instead of just being filthy rich. It is a game. The govt has allowed the banks to control the economy. The banks know what they are doing. I just wish our govt was. The loans mods are only going to help a few americans becasuse of the strict guide lines.. The banks did not have to jump thru hoops to get the bailout but the struggling homeowners how do need help is a long slow and sad ending. When all of us loose our homes and we are not longer paying taxes and fees and all what is the govt going to do with no $$$$$$$$$$$$
Regarding Home Affordability Modifications (HAMP)
The HAMP program is very good for what it was designed to do. But it is the servicers implementation that is the problem.
Desperate Home Owners Petition Congress For Help
http://www.petition2congress.com/2/2564/
Many servicers are finding any excuse they can to foreclose instead of modify because the servicers make more money by foreclosing. It is the investor (often Fannie or Freddie i.e. taxpayers) that lose. The servicers get fees for foreclosing, managing the property owned and reselling it .
Many lawyers, consumer groups and recently a Congressional Oversight Committee has pointed out the servicer problems.
“We believe all servicers must do more to reach struggling homeowners faster,” Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly said.”
REACHING homeowners is NOT THE ISSUE. It is easy to get on trials but they often are required for 6 months instead of 3 per the HAMP directives. The issue is being able to get final modifications as often the directives are not followed and additional requirements are being imposed by servicers and lenders.
Most servicers, and Fannie and Freddie as investors are backlogged for many months since there is to much “reaching” going on to get more in the pipeline they can't process. Its getting the modification approved that is the huge problem.
It is common to have to resend the same documents many times as the servicers either intentionally lose them or are just too overwhelmed. Than they claim they aren't getting the documents that have been mailed or faxed repeatedly.
If you are denied, often for reasons not part of the requirements, they can foreclose and sell without notice immediately. That power to sell is even in the Trial Agreement Document.
TINA. WE ASK FOR A LOAN MODIFICATION SINCE MY CO-OWNER WAS LAID OFF AND WAS RECEIVING UI PLUS MY WAGES FROM MY EMPLOYMENT AND RENTAL INCOME OF $500.00 PER MO.
ACCORDING TO CITI BANK MY MORTGAGE WAS SOLD TO WELL FARGO IN WHICH THEIR EXCUSE WAS, (THEY ARE A NON PARTICIPATING BANK FROM THE OBAMA PLAN) THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO A
LOAN MODIFICATION. EVEN THO WE WERE TOLD OUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT WAS GOING TO BE
$868.00 PER MO. BUT THEY STILL FORECLOSED ON 07/26/2009
TINA. WE ASK FOR A LOAN MODIFICATION SINCE MY CO-OWNER WAS LAID OFF AND WAS RECEIVING UI PLUS MY WAGES FROM MY EMPLOYMENT AND RENTAL INCOME OF $500.00 PER MO.
ACCORDING TO CITI BANK MY MORTGAGE WAS SOLD TO WELL FARGO IN WHICH THEIR EXCUSE WAS, (THEY ARE A NON PARTICIPATING BANK FROM THE OBAMA PLAN) THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO A
LOAN MODIFICATION. EVEN THO WE WERE TOLD OUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT WAS GOING TO BE
$868.00 PER MO. BUT THEY STILL FORECLOSED ON 07/26/2009
TINA. WE ASK FOR A LOAN MODIFICATION SINCE MY CO-OWNER WAS LAID OFF AND WAS RECEIVING UI PLUS MY WAGES FROM MY EMPLOYMENT AND RENTAL INCOME OF $500.00 PER MO.
ACCORDING TO CITI BANK MY MORTGAGE WAS SOLD TO WELL FARGO IN WHICH THEIR EXCUSE WAS, (THEY ARE A NON PARTICIPATING BANK FROM THE OBAMA PLAN) THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO A
LOAN MODIFICATION. EVEN THO WE WERE TOLD OUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT WAS GOING TO BE
$868.00 PER MO. BUT THEY STILL FORECLOSED ON 07/26/2009