Current mortgages inched up, foreclosures down, during 2nd quarter, bank regulator reports

More than 96% of first-lien mortgages were current and performing at national banks and thrifts at midyear, up slightly from the previous year, their federal regulator said Monday.

In its quarterly “Mortgage Metrics Report” (for the second quarter 2019), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said the midyear 2019 current and performing mortgages at 96.1% was a “slight improvement” over the 95.6% performance at midyear 2018.

First-lien mortgages at institutions supervised by the OCC (federally chartered banks and thrifts) make up 30% of all residential mortgages outstanding nationwide, about 16.3 million loans totaling $3.15 trillion in principal balances, the agency said.

Among new foreclosures, the OCC reported 21,409 during the second quarter, down more than a 27.7% from the year before and 22.8% from the first three months of 2019, the agency reported.

Home forfeiture actions during the quarter – completed foreclosure sales, short sales, and deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure actions – decreased 31.8% from a year earlier to 12,625, the agency said.

OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Second Quarter 2019