Even as JPMorgan Chase representatives were meeting with the task force, the bank's chief executive, Jamie Dimon, was rejecting the idea of writing down delinquent balances.
Some of the decline can be attributed to banks writing off delinquent balances, but the rate of such write-offs has fallen in recent months.
In February, the delinquent unpaid balance for these loans amounted to $11.99 billion, up from $3.48 billion in February 2008, according to Realpoint, a credit ratings agency in Horsham, Pa.
Denny, 19 when the story starts, something of a prodigal son, is reminiscent in his charming, maddening, potentially delinquent way – balanced bewilderingly yet convincingly between helpfulness and fecklessness – of Jack, the returning bad lot in Marilynne Robinson's Home.
But the unpaid balance of delinquent loans — $5.3 billion as of October — has increased by 70percentt since January.
The bank said it would reach out to delinquent borrowers whose mortgage balance was at least 20 percent greater than the value of the house.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is investigating JPMorgan Chase after a former employee said that nearly 23,000 delinquent accounts had incorrect balances, according to people with knowledge of the investigation.
After a balance has been delinquent for six months, regulations require the card company to reduce the value of the debt on its books to zero.
Santander said the percentage of delinquent Spanish loans on its balance sheet rose 0.64 percentage point, to 4.76 percent, although the figure increased to 5.75 percent because of changes in how Spanish authorities calculate the overall figure.
However, balances on those delinquent accounts jumped to a record 6.6% in the first quarter, from 5.52% in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The outstanding balance on mortgage accounts delinquent more than 90 days was €17.5 billion.
