After a preliminary review of third quarter foreclosure prevention data, New York City-based Citigroup Inc. (Citi) announced Monday that third quarter activities produced nearly three times the success rate in helping distressed homeowners avoid potential foreclosure in the Florida housing market, compared to last year.
According to the data, Citi’s loss mitigation success in the sunshine state outnumbered foreclosures completed by a ratio of almost 16 to one, compared to a six to one ration during the same period last year.

Each quarter, In an ongoing commitment to transparency in lending and foreclosure prevention, Citi releases a detailed analysis of its national foreclosure prevention activities in its portfolio of owned or serviced loans, including its efforts in 22 states, and Citi remains the only major mortgage servicing institution to provide this analysis. Complete date covering the third quarter 2009 will be issued later this month in the eighth edition of Citi U.S. Consumer Mortgage Lending Data and Servicing Foreclosure Prevention Efforts report.
“Citi is very focused on keeping distressed borrowers in their homes and is committed to driving solutions that help them do so,” said Sanjiv Das, president and CEO of CitiMortgage. “This is a paramount issue for Citi, and under the direction of Citi’s Chief Executive Officer, Vikram Pandit, we have invested heavily in people, technology and training to help borrowers avoid potential foreclosure. We are pleased with our progress to date, but there is more to be done. Recent improvements in documentation requirements and increased borrower awareness are resulting in greater success for trial modifications and other solutions,” Mr. Das added.

Das also explained that in order to be successful, communication is essential. He said Citi strongly encourages homeowners who find themselves in financial distress to call their mortgage company immediately to get help as quickly as possible because mortgage companies are there to help.

The release of Citi’s foreclosure prevention results in Florida coincided with Das’ visit to the state. During this time Das plans to meet with community leader and nonprofit partners in Miami to discuss strategies to prevent potential mortgage foreclosures, and he plans to meet with employers to reconfirm Citi’s commitment to economic recovery in Florida and across the nation.

Citi manages a $750 billion mortgage portfolio of loans it owns or services and has helped nearly 715,000 distressed homeowners across the country avoid potential foreclosure, since early 2007. These underlying mortgages total approximately $79 billion. As of recent, Citi has developed and implemented what the company says is a robust foreclosure prevention program of modifications, extensions, forbearances, and reinstatements. Additionally, Citi has introduced its early outreach program, Citi Homeowners Assistance Program and the Citi Unemployment Assist Program.

Citi has participated in the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and said the company is committed to supporting other loss mitigation activities. Starting October 31, Citi began trial HAMP mortgage modifications for 40 percent of eligible borrowers, which placed the company first among major U.S. mortgage servicers.

With more than 200 million customer accounts, New York City-based Citi claims to be the leading financial services company. Through its two operating units, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, the company has a goal of providing consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services.