Early delinquencies on bank and non-bank servicers were flat or had improved modestly for the fifth consecutive quarter, according to Fitch Ratings.
Loan modifications as a percentage of all loss mitigation volume came to 31%, up from 25%, among bank servicers the rating agency said in its latest U.S. RMBS Servicer Metric Report, which included comparisons between Q1 2023 to Q4 2022. The picture was a little brighter among non-bank servicers, where the loan modification volume was 13%, down from 17%.
The same pattern applied across bank and non-bank servicers when it came to active forbearance plans among loss mitigations. Among bank providers active forbearance plans were 36%, a significant increase from 11.5%. Fitch notes that this suggests that there was an influx of applications from borrowers that had not previously used up all forbearance options. Fitch found that non-bank servicers, meanwhile, had 35% of all loss mitigations in forbearance, down from 47% the previous quarter.
One metric showed very little change over the same period, which was bankruptcy caseloads, Fitch said. Foreclosure volume increased by 1% for bank servicers and decreased 1% for non-bank servicers. But at least in one area their metrics they moved down—90-day-plus delinquencies dropped by 1%, analysts said.
