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WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported an improvement in the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter.

The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, First Quarter 2023 showed that 97.6 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, compared with 97.1 percent in the fourth quarter 2022. There was also an improvement compared to first quarter 2022 when 96.9 percent of mortgages were current and performing.

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 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 1.3 percent in the previous quarter and compared to 1.8 percent a year ago.

Servicers initiated 11,459 new foreclosures in the first quarter of 2023, an increase from the prior quarter, but a lower volume than a year earlier. The new foreclosure volume in the first quarter of 2023 is lower than pre-COVID-19 pandemic foreclosure volumes.

Servicers completed 10,375 modifications during the first quarter of 2023, a 9.1 percent decrease from the previous quarter’s 11,419 modifications. Of the 10,375 modifications completed during the quarter, 5,842 or 56.3 percent, reduced the loan’s pre-modification monthly payment, 8,580 or 82.7 percent, were “combination modifications”—modifications that included multiple actions affecting the 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 22 percent of all residential mortgage debt outstanding in the United States or approximately 12 million loans totaling $2.7 trillion in principal balances.

This report provides information on mortgage performance through March 31, 2023, and is available on the OCC’s website, www.occ.gov.

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