WASHINGTON--Mortgage performance remained broadly stable at the nation’s largest bank servicers at year-end, but foreclosure activity picked up notably from a year earlier, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s newly updated Mortgage Metrics Report for the fourth quarter of 2025.
The OCC said the seven large national banks it tracks serviced about 10.3 million first-lien mortgages totaling $2.6 trillion, representing roughly 19.2% of all U.S. residential mortgage debt outstanding.
The report showed 97.5% of mortgages were current and performing in 4Q25, essentially flat with 97.3% a year earlier and slightly above 97.4% in 3Q25, underscoring continued resilience in bank-serviced portfolios even as rates remain elevated. At the same time, 30- to 59-day delinquencies were 1.3%, seriously delinquent loans were 1.1%, and loans in foreclosure process held at 0.2%, suggesting overall credit quality remained steady.
But foreclosure metrics moved higher on a year-over-year basis. The OCC reported 7,519 newly initiated foreclosures in 4Q25, down from 7,903 in 3Q25 but up sharply from 6,647 in 4Q24. Meanwhile, completed foreclosures and other home forfeiture actions totaled 1,710, up modestly from 1,702 in the prior quarter and well above 1,398 a year earlier, with 1,601 completed foreclosures making up the vast majority of those actions.
Loan workout activity also remained active. Banks completed 5,888 mortgage modifications in 4Q25, and the overwhelming majority—5,565—were classified as combination modifications, typically involving multiple changes such as capitalization, rate adjustments, term extensions or principal deferrals. Still, payment relief was mixed: 1,840 modifications cut monthly principal and interest payments by 20% or more, but 1,858 modifications actually increased payments, highlighting that not all restructurings reduced borrower burdens.