Wells Fargo Helps Nearly 93,000 Customers Through National Mortgage Settlement Programs
Wells Fargo Helps Nearly 93,000 Customers Through National Mortgage Settlement Programs
Company has fulfilled an estimated 90 percent of its $4.3 billion consumer relief and refinance commitment
DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wells Fargo & Co. (NYS: WFC) reported today that as of March 31, 2013, the company had fulfilled an estimated 90 percent of its $4.3 billion consumer relief and refinance commitment under the National Mortgage Settlement according to its latest scheduled report to the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. The report showed that nearly 93,000 Wells Fargo customers had received a mortgage modification, other consumer relief option or a refinance through programs under the settlement.
"Wells Fargo is fully committed to the National Mortgage Settlement's success, and sees the effort as an important complement to our overall, ongoing efforts across the country in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure," said Michael DeVito, executive vice president for Default Mortgage Servicing at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "The mortgage payment relief and loan refinancings are making a meaningful difference in the lives of the families who benefit from them."
The company reported that its efforts under the National Mortgage Settlement had reduced monthly payments by $959, on average, for borrowers who had completed a modification on their first-lien mortgage loan under the settlement program and reduced monthly principal and interest payments by $364, on average, for borrowers who had refinanced. The report to the monitor included national data, as well as a state-by-state breakdown of consumer relief and refinance activities.
DeVito noted the approximately 13,000 completed mortgage modifications and 26,000 refinanced mortgages included in the latest report for the period covering March 2012 through March 2013 represent only a fraction of Wells Fargo's total foreclosure prevention and refinance activity during that time. All told, Wells Fargo completed nearly 131,000 first- and second-lien mortgage modifications and refinanced more than 2.4 million loans—including both settlement and non-settlement activity—over the same 13-month period. Since the beginning of 2009, Wells Fargo has helped an average of 800 families per day through foreclosure prevention efforts and has refinanced approximately 5.1 million mortgage loans. The National Mortgage Settlement Programs went into place on March 1, 2012.
A breakdown of Wells Fargo's activity specific to the National Mortgage Settlement appears in the table below:
Program | Customers Helped | Consumer Benefit1 | ||||
1st and 2nd lien trial and completed modifications | 31,0462 | $2.2 billion in principal forgiveness2 | ||||
Short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure | 24,597 | $2.3 billion in write offs of indebtedness | ||||
Other consumer relief activity | 10,906 | $226 million in write offs of indebtedness | ||||
1st lien refinances | 25,981 | $1.38 billion in total interest savings ($5,440 in average annual interest savings for each customer refinanced)3 | ||||
TOTAL | 92,530 | |||||
1 Dollar amounts include a portion of the gross consumer benefit provided and do not reflect the amount of credit toward Wells Fargo's financial commitment. The credit applied to the commitment will be determined by a formula that takes into account the amounts here as well as other factors. | ||||||
2 Includes completed 1st lien modifications and completed 2nd lien modifications from report to the OMSO, plus active trial modifications in place as of March 31, 2013. Active trial modifications included are not directly comparable to trial modifications listed in the report to the OMSO. | ||||||
3 Reflects $5.201 billion in UPB refinanced with an average note rate reduction of 2.72% resulting in total annual interest savings to customers of $141 million and $1.11 billion in total interest savings to customers over the 7.85-year anticipated average life of the refinanced loans. | ||||||
Wells Fargo implemented all of the servicing standards required under the settlement on schedule by Oct. 2, 2012 and is working with the monitor to assess the company's performance on an ongoing basis.
Wells Fargo is close to fulfilling its commitment under the settlement based on completed consumer relief activity reflected in the current report and when currently pending activity is completed it is expected that Wells Fargo will have exceeded its commitment.
The report's data on refinancings only includes completed refinances; the estimated number of customers expected to be refinanced and the estimated financial impact of the entire expanded program is consistent with what the company has previously disclosed.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is the nation's leading mortgage lender and services one of every six mortgage loans in the nation. A division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., it has a national presence in mortgage stores and banking stores, and also serves the home financing needs of customers nationwide through its call centers, Internet presence and third-party production channels. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is an equal housing lender.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYS: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank's customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune's 2013 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially.
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