OCC sees mortgage portfolio of major banks 'relatively stable'

According to a new study of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency the overall mortgage portfolio of the nine larges US banks surveyed is "relatively satisfactory and stable". 62 percent of all mortgages were prime and only 9 percent of the total portfolio was subprime. This means that the nine banks in the survey are holding about $350 billion in subprime mortgages. Makes one wonder where are the other $900 billion.

The biggest U.S. banks that service more than 23 million mortgages totaling $3.8 trillion have focused on setting up repayment plans for troubled borrowers rather than modifying their loans, a top U.S. banking regulator said on Wednesday.

"Payment plans predominated, outnumbering loan modifications in March by more than four to one," said John Dugan, head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The nine banks participating in the OCC study are Bank of America, Citibank, First Horizon, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, National City, USBank, Wachovia and Wells Fargo.



source: U.S. banks opt for payment plans for ailing mortgages
Reuters, Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:34pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN1117997920080611?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews