Litton to Participate in HAMP

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Litton Loan Servicing LP said Thursday it has agreed to rework mortgages under the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Plan. The Houston servicer said that since March, it has "offered more than 38,000 modifications to struggling homeowners using terms in accordance with the broad principles of HAMP, and has built infrastructure to fully implement the program." Larry B. Litton Jr., the unit's president and chief executive, said in a press release that modifications are its "primary method of helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. In the 12 months prior to the announcement of the Home Affordable Modification program, we modified more than 44,000 loans, representing about 10% of our loan portfolio. As the details of the federal program emerged, we continued to modify loans." This week the Treasury Department released its first monthly report card on the program. Officials expressed disappointment that only 235,247 trial modifications have started. But some servicers said obtaining documentation of borrower incomes has slowed down the process.