WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued the following statement regarding the reporting of securitized subprime adjustable rate residential mortgages:

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) encourages all national bank mortgage servicers to utilize the HOPE NOW¹ alliance’s loan modification reporting standards for subprime adjustable rate residential mortgages. A standard reporting format will help investors in securitization trusts, including financial institutions, monitor foreclosure prevention efforts related to subprime mortgage loans. Consistent loan modification reporting will foster transparency in the securitization market and provide standardized data across the mortgage industry. As noted in the OCC’s News Release 2008-24, the OCC is requiring additional information from large national bank mortgage servicers to complement the HOPE NOW alliance metrics.

The OCC supports the data collection efforts related to the HOPE NOW alliance, and believes that long-term sustainable loss mitigation techniques that preserve homeownership are generally in the best interest of borrowers, servicers, and investors because such strategies are typically less costly than foreclosure, particularly when applied before default.

The other federal financial regulatory agencies (the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of Thrift Supervision), are issuing similar communications today to the institutions they supervise; the National Credit Union Administration will follow shortly.

The contact information for reporting is HOPE NOW – Mr. Trey Barnes, McDash Analytics, tbarnes@mcdash.com, or (904) 285-6220.

APPENDIX

The following guidance and information should be consulted for additional details about matters discussed in this Statement.

Supervision

• Clarification Letter from the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant, January 8, 2008, found at: http://www.sec.gov/info/accountants/staffletters/hanish010808.pdf
  
  
• Working with Borrowers: Statement on Residential Real Estate Loan Restructurings for Serviced Loans, OCC Bulletin 2007-38, October 11, 2007: http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2007-38.html
  
  
• Subprime Mortgage Lending: Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending, OCC Bulletin 2007-26, July 25, 2007: http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2007-26.html
  
  
• Working with Mortgage Borrowers: Interagency Statement, OCC Bulletin 2007-14, April 18, 2007: http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2007-14.html
  
  
• Nontraditional Mortgage Products: Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Product Risks, OCC Bulletin 2006-41, October 4, 2006: http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2006-41.html