Mortgage performance improves

The overall quality of first-lien mortgages serviced by large national and federal savings banks improved from the same period a year ago but showed seasonal decline from the prior quarter, according to a report released this week by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Mortgages current and performing at the end of the second quarter comprised 88.7% of the loans outstanding, compared with 88.1% a year earlier. 

Some 2.8% of loans were 30 to 59 days past due, slightly lower than delinquency levels a year ago.
Loans 60 or more days past due fell to their lowest level in three years. This was about 4.4% of outstanding loans in the second quarter.

Bankers say several factors contribute to the year-over-year improvement, including strengthening economic conditions, servicing transfers and the ongoing effects of both home retention loan modification programs.

The report covers 30.5 million first-lien mortgages worth $5.2 trillion in outstanding balances, about 60% of all first-lien mortgages in the United States.  The complete report can be downloaded from the OCC website.