Mortgage Insurer Genworth Ups Foreclosure Prevention by 81%

Mortgage insurer ""Genworth Financial"":http://www.genworth.com reported Wednesday that it saved nearly $3.4 billion in mortgages from foreclosure in the 12 months ending March 31, 2010.

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Mortgage dollars saved were up more than 81 percent from the same period last year. Over the last year, Genworth's U.S. mortgage insurance division, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, worked with its lender partners and servicers to complete more than 23,000 mortgage workouts nationwide through its Homeowner Assistance Program.

""Genworth is totally committed to helping distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure and protect their credit,"" said Alan Goldberg, VP of homeowner assistance for Genworth's U.S. mortgage insurance business.

Goldberg says he is especially pleased with the success the company is having through the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

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""We saw HAMP workouts increase 74 percent…in the first quarter of 2010 over the previous quarter, amounting to more than $750 million in mortgage dollars saved,"" Goldberg said.

According to Genworth's latest ""Foreclosure Prevention Scorecard"":http://www.genworth.com/scorecard, eight out of 10 workouts in Q1 were ""cures,"" meaning the borrower was able to save their home and become current on their mortgage, with nearly $145,000 saved per borrower. Genworth's cure rate remains above 80 percent in 35 of 50 states nationwide.

The leading states for workouts, in order, included California ($347 million), Florida ($342 million), Arizona ($175 million), Texas ($173 million), Illinois ($167 million), Georgia ($164 million), New York ($152 million), New Jersey ($144 million), North Carolina ($122 million), and Maryland ($107 million).

Among the top 10 states, California and Arizona saw triple digit increases in workouts.

Phoenix was the leading city for mortgage dollars saved ($51 million), followed by Chicago ($40 million), Miami ($31 million), Houston ($22 million), and Charlotte ($19 million).

Looking at Genworth's full picture, proprietary loan modifications were the leading workout type, making up 33 percent.

Twenty-four percent of workouts were completed through the government's HAMP program. Repayment plans totaled 19 percent, and short sales made up 18 percent of the company's total loan resolutions.