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Statement by Faith Schwartz, Executive Director of the HOPE NOW Alliance, on the OCC and OTS Mortgage Metrics Report for Fourth Quarter 2008
| Source: HOPE NOW Alliance
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - April 3, 2009) - HOPE NOW, the industry-created alliance of
mortgage servicers, investors, counselors, and other mortgage market
participants that since October 2007 has been helping homeowners deal with
their mortgage concerns, today released the following statement by its
executive director, Faith Schwartz:
The HOPE NOW Alliance closely monitors monthly performance trends related
to mortgage modification data. As the OCC-OTS data for 2008 confirms
foreclosure prevention efforts became more aggressive as the economy
worsened. The OCC-OTS report shows that the volume of mortgage
modifications increased as the economy turned downward in the second half
of 2008. The data also confirms what HOPE NOW has been reporting for some
time: that the mortgage industry has been increasingly utilizing loan
modifications and is continuing to do so as serious economic conditions
make this option the most appropriate choice to help homeowners avoid
foreclosure.
We expect these trends to continue in the months ahead. Now that the
industry has firm affordability targets in place, the HOPE NOW Alliance
expects that mortgage modifications will be completed even more
aggressively in the coming months than has been the case in the past. Our
members are reporting to us that they have been increasingly using loan
modifications during 2009, and this trend will be reflected when the
OCC-OTS issues its next report on mortgage lending industry's activities
for 2009.
For more information about HOPE NOW, go to www.HopeNow.com