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""Wells Fargo"":http://www.wellsfargo.com says as of March 31, 2011, the company had 664,195 loans in active trial or permanent mortgage modifications.
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Eighty-six percent, or 568,548, were through the California-based lender's own modification programs. Loans restructured through the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) tallied 95,647.
Teri Schrettenbrunner, SVP of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage communications, says the company continues to see declines in the number of customers who are defaulting on their home loans.
""Only 7.22 percent of all first mortgage and home equity loans serviced by the company - including loans originated by Wells Fargo and those originated by other lenders - were past due or in foreclosure in the first quarter of 2011,"" Schrettenbrunner explained.
That figure is down from a peak of 8.96 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 8.02 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.
[COLUMN_BREAK]For customers who are 60 days or more past due who choose to work with the company, Wells Fargo says it has been able to help seven out of every 10 avoid foreclosure.
The company reports that fewer than 2 percent of the loans secured by owner-occupied homes and serviced by Wells Fargo proceeded to a foreclosure sale in the last 12 months.
Past issues related to foreclosure documentation and procedures, though, have led the company to raise its estimate of expected losses to cover litigation expenses.
In its ""first-quarter filing"":https://www.wellsfargo.com/downloads/pdf/invest_relations/1Q11_10Q.pdf with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wells Fargo said it is ""probable"" that the company's total litigation liability from foreclosure issues and penalties could go as high as $1.7 billion.
Based on developments in the early part of the year, the company tacked another $500 million onto its estimate for potential litigation losses. At the end of the fourth quarter, the projection was $1.2 billion.
Wells Fargo, like every other major mortgage servicer in the country, has been the subject of investigation by federal regulators, state attorneys general, and the U.S. Justice Department, all looking into reported processing errors related to foreclosure actions.
""These investigations could result in material fines, penalties, equitable remedies (including requiring default servicing or other process changes), or other enforcement actions and result in significant legal costs in responding to governmental investigations and additional litigation,"" the bank said in the SEC filing.
