Obama’s HAMP celebrates first birthday

Today is the one-year anniversary of the Obama administration’s announcement of its Home Affordable Mortgage Program, and it comes with good news. The program, which aims to keep borrowers in their homes by modifying their mortgage payments, has crossed the 1 million mark in trial modifications granted and has seen permanent loan modifications double in January to over 116,000 from just over 66,000 in December, CNBC’s Diana Olick reported. However, critics say the improvements are too meager to make much of a difference, with 5.6 million borrowers delinquent on their mortgages and only two-thirds of HAMP participants current on their modified payments. Meanwhile, just 12 percent of participants have seen a permanent reduction in their mortgage payments since the program began. Roughly 51,000 trial modifications have been cancelled as a result of non-payment or lack of documentation, Olick said.