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WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported a slight decline in the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter.

The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2022 showed that 97.1 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, compared with 97.2 percent in the third quarter. There was an improvement compared to fourth quarter 2021 when 96.4 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 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, the same as the previous quarter, compared to 2.3 percent a year ago.

Servicers initiated 9,166 new foreclosures in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease from the prior quarter, but a higher volume than a year earlier. The new foreclosure volume in the fourth quarter of 2022 is lower than pre-COVID-19 pandemic foreclosure volumes.

Servicers completed 11,419 modifications during the fourth quarter of 2022, a 29.3 percent decrease from the previous quarter’s 16,160 modifications. Of the 11,419 modifications completed during the quarter, 7,303, or 64 percent, reduced the loan’s pre-modification monthly payment, and 9,597 or 84 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 December 31, 2022, and is available on the OCC’s website, www.occ.gov.

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