Wells Fargo Supports President's Porposed Homeowner Affordability & Stability Plan

Wells Fargo extends foreclosure moratorium.

Courtesy: mortgages.weblogsinc.com

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Wells Fargo Home Mortgage said today it supports the spirit of the Administration's mortgage refinancing and foreclosure prevention plan and is working closely with the Administration to put it into action.

Wells Fargo Co-President Mike Heid said the company believes the plan President Obama announced today will go a long way in helping even more Americans who are struggling with their mortgage payments to remain in their homes.

"At year end," said Heid, "93 out of 100 of our mortgage customers were current on their mortgage payments. The refinancing options proposed by President Obama will help many of these customers lower their monthly payments and stay in their homes.

"In the interim, to give at-risk customers time to explore the new solutions in the Administration's plan with us for loans Wells Fargo owns, we will not proceed with home foreclosure sales until at least March 13, 2009," Heid said.

"For those loans we service for other investors, we also will not proceed with home foreclosure sales until such date that our investors will allow. These decisions will require more discussions with some investors. We're pleased to say that investors for a substantial portion of these loans already have announced their intention to extend to March 6, 2009. We ask for our customers' patience as we handle the large number of calls that we expect this announcement to generate. We will respond to all inquiring customers as fast as we can but our focus first of all needs to be on those families who face imminent foreclosure, to try to help keep them in their homes."

Heid said Wells Fargo will work diligently with the Obama Administration and with investors to put the systems in place to offer the plan to its customers as quickly as possible.

Wells Fargo provided input for the development of the President's plan and already has taken several steps to prepare for changes needed when details of the plan are final. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is one of the nation's leading retail mortgage lenders and services one of every seven mortgage loans in the nation.

A division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., it has a national presence in mortgage stores and banking stores, and also serves the home financing needs of customers nationwide through its call centers, Internet presence and third-party production channels.

Founded in 1852, Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 11,000 stores, over 12,000 ATMs and the Internet at: wellsfargo.com across North America and internationally.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. has the highest credit rating currently given to U.S. banks by Moody's Investors Service, "Aa1," and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, "AA+."