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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 fourth quarter of 2020.

The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2020 showed that 93.3 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. The decline is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by banks to comply with the CARES Act.

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 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 5.8 percent in the prior quarter and 1.5 percent a year ago.

Servicers initiated 789 new foreclosures during the fourth quarter of 2020­, a 113.8 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 96.5 percent decrease from a year ago. Events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including foreclosure moratoriums, have significantly affected these metrics.

Servicers completed 41,030 mortgage modifications in the fourth quarter of 2020, an increase of 191.1 percent from the previous quarter. Of the 41,030 mortgage modifications, 32.6 percent of the modifications reduced borrowers’ monthly payments, and 34,403, or 83.8 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 25 percent of all residential mortgage debt outstanding in the United States or approximately 13.8 million loans totaling $2.74 trillion in principal balances. This report provides information on mortgage performance through December 31, 2020, and it can be downloaded from the OCC’s website, www.occ.gov.

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