Wells Fargo Reports 687,047 Active Trial and Completed Modifications through May 2011

Wells Fargo & Co. WFC reported today that active trial or completed mortgage modifications started since the beginning of 2009 were in place on 687,047 loans in its servicing portfolio as of May 31, 2011. That included 585,213, or 85 percent of the total, done through the company's own modification programs and 101,834 done through the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program. About 93 percent of Wells Fargo's home loan customers remained current on their home payments as of the first quarter of 2011. From January 2009 through May 2011, the company has helped 2.7 million consumers take advantage of historically-low interest rates to reduce their home payments through refinancing. Fewer than 2 percent of the loans secured by owner-occupied homes and serviced by Wells Fargo have proceeded to a foreclosure sale over the past 12 months. In addition, the company continues to see declines in delinquencies. “Avoiding foreclosure is a top priority for us and when customers work with us, we can help 7 of every 10 to stay out of foreclosure,” said Teri Schrettenbrunner, senior vice president, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. “We continue to introduce means to make the home preservation process easier for customers to manage. That includes improving upon and expanding the primary contact model we introduced in June 2010 so that a customer knows exactly who they are working with on a modification from beginning to end. We also continue to aggressively reach out to customers 60 or more days behind on their home loans via mail and telephone in an effort to engage them.”