Markets Wired

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported that the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system declined during the first quarter of 2021.

The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, First Quarter 2021 showed that 94.2 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, compared to 96.5 percent a year earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages—mortgages that are 60 or more days past due and all mortgages held by bankrupt borrowers whose payments are 30 or more days past due—was 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to 5.2 percent in the prior quarter and 1.4 percent a year ago.

Servicers initiated 833 new foreclosures during the first quarter of 2021­, a 5.6 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 95.8 percent decrease from a year ago. Events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including foreclosure moratoriums, have significantly affected these metrics.

Servicers completed 47,773 mortgage modifications in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 16.4 percent from the previous quarter. Of the 47,773 mortgage modifications, 55.3 percent of the modifications reduced borrowers’ monthly payments, and 27,503, or 57.6 percent, were “combination modifications”—modifications that included multiple actions affecting affordability and sustainability of the loan, such as an interest rate reduction and a term extension.

The first-lien mortgages included in the OCC’s quarterly report comprise 24 percent of all residential mortgage debt outstanding in the United States or approximately 13.2 million loans totaling $2.64 trillion in principal balances. This report provides information on mortgage performance through March 31, 2021, and it can be downloaded from the OCC’s website, www.occ.gov.

Related Link