A recently released Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) report outlined during the fourth quarter of 2020 performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system declined.
According to the OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2020 indicated 93.3 percent of mortgages included in the analysis were current and performing at the end of the quarter compared to 96.5 percent the prior year.
Authorities have attributed the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by banks to comply with the CARES Act.
Meanwhile, the report showed seriously delinquent mortgages, which officials categorized as mortgages 60 or more days past due and all mortgages held by bankrupt borrowers whose payments are 30 or more days past due was 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 5.8 percent in the previous quarter and 1.5 percent one year ago.
Additionally, according to the analysis, servicers initiated 789 new foreclosures during the fourth quarter of 2020, which represents a 113.8 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 96.5 percent decrease from a year ago while events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including foreclosure moratoriums, have significantly impacted the metrics.
First-lien mortgages included in the report make up 25 percent of all of the nation’s residential mortgage debt or approximately 13.8 million loans totaling $2.74 trillion in principal balances, per the OCC.