Wells Fargo & Co.'s strategy for modifying troubled Pick-A-Pay mortgages looks like a game of kick-the-can-down-the-road.
The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets holds about $107 billion in debt tied to option adjustable-rate mortgages, a relic of the U.S. housing boom that allowed borrowers to make small monthly payments in return for increasing their mortgage balance. Many such borrowers now own homes worth far less than they owe in mortgage debt, and most can't afford a full monthly payment that pays down the loan's principal.
To solve that conundrum, Wells Fargo is taking a gamble: The San Francisco company is issuing thousands of interest-only loans that will defer borrowers' balances for as long as six to 10 years.
Wells Fargo is wagering that an eventual rise in housing prices in the worst-hit regions of the U.S. and a rise in consumer income, will eventually cover the bank's underwater Pick-A-Pay debt. "We're banking on the fact the economy will improve and recover over time," Michael Heid, co-president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said in an interview.
The move to shift Pick-A-Pay borrowers into interest-only loans helps Wells Fargo avoid hefty write-downs on Pick-A-Pay mortgages that would likely result from foreclosures. But the strategy will leave Wells Fargo holding billions of dollars in mortgage debt tied to distressed properties in battered markets, especially California and Florida.
link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125728972492326499.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs
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