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Servicers Claim They Modified $10.5 Bln in ‘Robo’ Deal

The nation’s five mega-servicers told their attorney general settlement monitor that they modified $10.5 billion of home mortgages for 137,850 troubled borrowers between March 1 and the end of the second quarter.

The payment relief includes the offering of principal reductions to 28,000 borrowers and the refinancing of underwater loans.

The numbers were provided in the first-ever report of the landmark robo-signing from monitor Joseph Smith. His report was released Wednesday morning and tracks how the five — Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Ally Financial — are living up to the terms of their robo-signing settlement promises.

In issuing the report, Smith said the servicers voluntarily provided the information to the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. However, his staff has not confirmed the accuracy of the data.

The report discloses that “first-lien principal reduction trials were offered and begun for about 28,000 homeowners, totaling approximately $3 billion of potential relief.”

The five gave roughly 7,000 borrowers trials and provided $750 million of principal forgiveness. The average amount of principal reduction is  $105,650 per loan.

Other forms of relief included second-lien modifications and extinguishments of debt for 4,200 borrowers. Refinances were given to 22,000 borrowers and 74,600 short sales and deed-in-lieu transactions were completed.

Smith noted that the settlement assigns different credits for the various forms of relief. So the $10.6 billion in consumer relief cannot be used to evaluate progress toward the obligation in the landmark settlement to provide $20 billion in relief for troubled borrowers. “More hard work remains as the banks work to meet their obligations,” the former North Carolina bank commissioner said.

The five entered into the $25 billion settlement with 49 state attorneys general in February. The agreement requires the banks to spend $20 billion on modifying and refinancing loans.

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