The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Office of Thrift Supervision said Friday that they will begin collecting more data on loan modifications in order to monitor their effectiveness.
The agencies, which have been releasing joint quarterly reports on foreclosures and loss-mitigation efforts by the banks and thrifts they regulate, are to begin recording details of the loan modifications' effects on borrowers' monthly payments. They will also keep track of how many loans modified during the first half of 2008 are 60 days past due.
The OTS and the OCC will separate modified loans into four categories: those that increased borrowers' monthly payments, those that did not shrink monthly payments, those that trimmed payments by 10% or less, and those that trimmed them more than 10%. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said in a press release that the extra data would "help inform lenders and policymakers as to what type of modifications work, with a particular focus on the effect of significant changes in monthly payments." The agencies are to publish their next report in March, and it will include the new data.
