JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) said on Wednesday that it will substantially increase its nationwide network by adding 24 more Chase Homeownership Centers to help homeowners who are at risk of mortgage payments.
The company intends to open the mortgage assistance centers in the next four months. That will take the total number of Chase mortgage assistance centers to 51 in 14 states and Washington D.C.
Chase will open six of the new 24 mortgage assistance centers in markets that have been hit hard by the housing and economic downturns and currently don’t have a center. The six markets are: Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale, and Seattle. The other 18 new centers will supplement markets that already have centers.
Borrowers can access the centers six days a week. According to the company, in 11 months, the existing Chase mortgage assistance centers have served more than 60,000 borrowers.
Till date, in 2009, Chase has approved more than 568,000 new trial modifications under its own modification program, the U.S. Making Home Affordable Program, and Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and FHA programs.
The new Chase mortgage assistance centers will significantly support the effort of government which is seeking to speed up modifications to help reduce increasing foreclosures.
JPMorgan’s third quarter earnings came in at 80 cents per share, substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents. This compares favorably with 9 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.
The better-than-expected results were primarily aided by continued strong performance by the Investment Banking group. All segments other than Consumer Lending and Card Services also delivered solid results during the quarter. However, persistent high levels of credit costs in loan portfolios were among the major negatives.
Nevertheless, the full repayment of the bailout money by the company has taken it out of government intervention, which inspires our confidence in the stock. While we anticipate continued synergies from the company’s diversification and strong capital position, we believe increasing provisions and worsening credit quality will be a drag on future earnings.
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