BofA Completes Nearly 21,000 Permanent HAMP Mods

""Bank of America"":https://www.bankofamerica.com/Control.do?page=corp_bofacom completed 20,666 permanent modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program as of February 28, 2010, up from 12,761 a month earlier. The bank also has 22,303 additional permanent HAMP modifications that are pending and leads the mortgage servicing industry with more than 240,000 active trial modifications under HAMP.

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""We are in a position to show strong results in completion of permanent HAMP modifications as we move into spring,"" said Jack Schakett, loss mitigation strategies executive for Bank of America Home Loans. ""We have a

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strong pipeline of modifications in the trial payment period, under review for conversion to permanent status, and out for final signature.""

HAMP has become the centerpiece of Bank of America's aggressive response to the incidence of homeowners having difficulty making mortgage payments due to the economic conditions, but the servicer continues to rely on proprietary programs to modify loans for homeowners who do not qualify for the government initiative. From January 2008 through February 2010, Bank of America completed more than 500,000 mortgage modifications under its own programs.

Through both HAMP and non-HAMP efforts, 760,000 Bank of America Home Loans customers have had the opportunity to modify their mortgages since January 2008.

To better reach at-risk borrowers, Bank of America is preparing its systems for implementation of two additional components of the government's Making Home Affordable program. The bank was the first servicer and remains the only major bank to sign an agreement to participate in the Home Affordable Second Lien Modification Program and will also participate in the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program.