The top four banks in the country, which account for more than half of all mortgage servicing outstanding, also hold most of the second mortgages out there. New numbers compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance show that Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup held a combined $117.4 billion in closed-end second mortgages at year-end. As the mortgage industry grapples with loan modifications and other efforts to resolve troubled mortgages, one of the big stumbling blocks has been dealing with second lien holders.
But the top holders of CES mortgages also happen to be the firms looking to modify the most mortgages. Citigroup was the top bank in terms of CES mortgages outstanding at year-end with $36.1 billion. BofA followed close behind with $35.3 billion in second mortgages. Last year’s wave of mergers and acquisitions helped consolidate second liens as Countrywide, Washington Mutual and Wachovia were all absorbed by the top three banks in the country.
