Wells Fargo & Company has more than doubled the number of permanent modifications that it has made under the Home Mortgage Affordability Report (HAMP) during the month of January, according to newly released document from the company.
The San Francisco based bank has moved swiftly by making use of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) along with its other modification programs to reduce the number of foreclosures it has on its books. As of the end of January, Wells Fargo & Company had 137,128 active trials and completed modifications running. This number includes 17,652 permanent modifications which was more than double than what the company had listed at the end of December. The December figure was 7,554 permanent modifications.
More than 92,000 Wells Fargo customers with trial modifications have made all three trial payments on time as of January 31st. The company expects that about 50% of these will have their trial modifications made permanent. Out of the remaining customers, 30% of are ineligible for HAMP modifications and the remaining 20% have failed to provide proper documentation.
Other companies including Bank of America, Citigroup, US Bancorp and others are also actively engaged in HAMP and other modification programs to prevent foreclosure, but Wells Fargo is generally believed to be doing a better job of preventing foreclosure by actively reaching out to its customers to collect necessary documents and address customers’ loan problems through all possible alternatives. The company says that it has been able to help 95% of its customers stay current with their payments.
Wells Fargo has increased its home retention staff by more than 8,000 to a total of 15,000 employees. The company has also met with 6,300 customers through home preservation workshops and expects to organize similar events throughout the rest of the year.
