N@N

Wells Fargo Reports 687,047 Active Trial and Completed Modifications through May 2011

^{Published on 2011-07-01 16:05:40 - Market Wire}
 

DES MOINES, Iowa--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) reported today that active trial or completed mortgage modifications started since the beginning of 2009 were in place on 687,047 loans in its servicing portfolio as of May 31, 2011. That included 585,213, or 85 percent of the total, done through the companya™s own modification programs and 101,834 done through the federal governmenta™s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

"Avoiding foreclosure is a top priority for us and when customers work with us, we can help 7 of every 10 to stay out of foreclosure"

About 93 percent of Wells Fargoa™s home loan customers remained current on their home payments as of the first quarter of 2011. From January 2009 through May 2011, the company has helped 2.7 million consumers take advantage of historically-low interest rates to reduce their home payments through refinancing. Fewer than 2percent of the loans secured by owner-occupied homes and serviced by Wells Fargo have proceeded to a foreclosure sale over the past 12 months. In addition, the company continues to see declines in delinquencies.

aAvoiding foreclosure is a top priority for us and when customers work with us, we can help 7 of every 10 to stay out of foreclosure,a said Teri Schrettenbrunner, senior vice president, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. aWe continue to introduce means to make the home preservation process easier for customers to manage. That includes improving upon and expanding the primary contact model we introduced in June 2010 so that a customer knows exactly who they are working with on a modification from beginning to end. We also continue to aggressively reach out to customers 60 or more days behind on their home loans via mail and telephone in an effort to engage them.a

Wells Fargo has doubled its efforts via large-scale Home Preservation Workshops in 2011 (compared to 2010) in order to provide increased face-to-face support for customers in areas challenged with foreclosures.

aWe have met face to face with more than 58,000 customers at 31 large-scale Home Preservation Workshops around the country or at one of the 27 Home Preservation Centers located in communities hard hit by the housing crisis,a said Schrettenbrunner. aWe are successful in helping half of the customers who attend the Home Preservation Workshops with a decision on the spot or shortly after the workshop. The rest take a little more time to work through the complexities of their individual situations.a

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is the nationa™s leading mortgage lender and services one of every six mortgage loans in the nation. A division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., it has a national presence in mortgage stores and banking stores, and also serves the home financing needs of customers nationwide through its call centers, Internet presence and third-party production channels.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.2 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com and wachovia.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With approximately 280,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortunea™s 2011 rankings of Americaa™s largest corporations. Wells Fargoa™s vision is to satisfy all our customersa™ financial needs and help them succeed financially.