No. 3 Servicer Chase Declares Foreclosure Moratorium

Chase Home Mortgage, the nation's third largest residential servicer, today declared a three-week moratorium on home foreclosures. A subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, the lender/servicer said is waiting for the White House to unveil its foreclosure reduction program. According to the Quarterly Data Report, Chase services $850 billion in home mortgages. Meanwhile, JPM opened its first homeownership assistance center in California -- in the town of Glendale -- as part of a plan to open a nationwide network of 24 centers by the end of March. Nine of the HOA centers will be in California to assist borrowers serviced by Chase, Washington Mutual or EMC, which now are part of JPMorgan Chase. "We created these local Homeownership Centers as a place for our borrowers to sit down and discuss their situation face-to-face with trained loan advisors in these challenging times," said David Schneider, head of mortgage servicing at Chase. "They are part of a wide-ranging initiative to help families stay in their homes whenever possible." Three other centers, designed to help families struggling with their mortgage payments, will open soon in the Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino County.