Fifth Third Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank has reported that it continues to outpace the industry in permanent modification conversions in the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Of the Mortgage Company's portfolio eligible for HAMP consideration, nearly 77 percent of those trial plans have been converted to permanent modifications. According to U.S. Treasury data recently released for October, that percentage is more than double the national average of nearly 35 percent.
"The past several months have seen a lot of negative information about the mortgage industry, particularly along the foreclosure front," said Steve Alonso, executive vice president of Consumer Lending, Mortgage and Business Banking for Fifth Third Bank. "Fifth Third Bank is committed to helping keep our customers in their homes, and we are continuing to work hard converting eligible customers into the government's HAMP program."
The Mortgage Company uses HAMP on its Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-owned mortgages, per government-sponsored entities' (GSE) guidelines. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created a program similar to HAMP for the mortgages it owns and the Bank services. Both programs require a three-month trial modification period before being converted to permanent status.
In addition to utilizing the government's HAMP program, Fifth Third continues to use its "You Have Options" program for bank-owned mortgages. Fifth Third's "You Have Options" program is tailored, through a menu of options, to each customer's specific financial situation. The program allows the Bank to offer flexible-term and rate adjustments to bank-owned mortgages.
Along with the "You Have Options" program, Fifth Third Bank developed a proactive customer outreach program designed to build customer trust and enable solutions-driven interactions between the Bank and its customers, ranging from a centralized toll-free contact point, to outreach events, to home visits.
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