Green Tree Servicing LLC, of St. Paul, Minnesota, has joined the growing list of mortgage companies officially under contract to provide federal loan modifications through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program. Green Tree, which services the nation’s largest portfolio of manufactured housing loans, is slated to receive up to $156 million in incentive payments for its participation in the program.
Government officials have released a steady stream of company names participating in the program since the servicer contracts became available in mid-April. The nation’s largest lenders – including JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and the Bank of America-Countrywide conglomerate – have agreed to provide mortgage modifications under the federal guidelines. Specialty subprime servicer Ocwen Financial has also signed on to participate, along with GMAC, Saxon Mortgage, Select Portfolio Servicing, Wilshire Credit Corporation, and Home Loan Services.

The administration has said it will commit $75 billion to the Home Affordable Modification Program, $50 billion of which will come out of the $700 billion bailout fund, with the remaining cash provided from other government sources. Of that amount, a little over $14 billion has been allocated to the twelve servicers that have already signed on to the program.
The Treasury Department said on Tuesday, between the loans covered by these first twelve servicers and loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, more than 75 percent of all loans in the country are now covered by the Making Home Affordable Program. The administration has estimated that the modification piece of its housing program will secure lower monthly payments for 3 to 4 million at-risk homeowners, while the refinance initiative will provide mortgage relief for another 4 to 5 million.