Citigroup Keeps $16bn of Mortgages from Foreclosure in Q209

Citigroup (C) kept 108,000 mortgages with a combined original value of $16bn from foreclosure in Q209, 29% more than in Q109, according to data just released by its servicing business. “CitiMortgage’s main concern is to help as many of our distressed customers as we can with a solution that is appropriate for their individual financial circumstances and needs,” said CitiMortgage CEO Sanjiv Das in a company statement. Modifications decreased 5% from Q109, but total loss mitigation efforts rose by 29%, due in part to trial modifications implemented under the Home Affordable Modification Program. The three-month trial period keeps pending HAMP modifications out of “modified” status until homeowners remain current through the three-month trial. Citi said it hired 1,400 staffers in its loss mitigation department and has solicited more than 140,000 delinquent borrowers for the HAMP initiative since April and offered trial HAMP modifications to 40,000 borrowers. Loss mitigation solutions outnumbered foreclosures by 12 to one in Q209, Citi said. Foreclosures and delinquencies continue to trend upward overall, Citi said, as loans 90 or more days past due rose to 4.7% within Citi’s servicing portfolio of first and second mortgages. Re-default rates did not exceed 29% — the approximate industry standard — for loans modified between Q108 and Q109. Write to Diana Golobay.