Litton Loan Servicing Makes 40 in HAMP

Litton Loan Servicing, the servicing arm of Goldman Sachs, signed an agreement with the US Treasury Department today to become the 40th participant in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAMP allocates funds from Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to servicers as interest rate subsidies or to distribute to participating lender/investors or borrowers. In total, the Treasury allocated $21bn in TARP funding caps to the institutions, based on the latest TARP financial report from August 4. The Treasury may adjust individual caps based on actual participation in the program. Litton did not disclose the amount of funding under its cap before this story was published, but a history of modification efforts indicate a potential for substantial participation. “Our company has used modifications as the primary method of helping homeowners avoid foreclosure,” says Larry Litton, Jr., Litton’s CEO, in the release. For the 12 months leading up to the HAMP participation, Litton modified more than 44,000 loans or 10% of their portfolio, Litton said. “As the details of the federal program emerged, we continued to modify loans, and by adopting this program, we will continue to make every effort to keep homeowners in their homes,” Litton said. Since March, Litton offered more than 38,000 modifications to homeowners and established an infrastructure to implement the program, according to a corporate release. Currently, the Houston-based company services nearly 370,000 mortgage loans across the country. Earlier this week, Housing Wire reported that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) requested more from HAMP to stop the “hemorrhage” of foreclosures across the country and called for a halt of foreclosure for any HAMP-eligible property. Write to Jon Prior.