Chase Approves 138,000 Trial Mortgage Modifications in the Last Three Months

155,000 more modification requests in process or under review

Has prevented 565,000 foreclosures since 2007
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Chase announced today that it has approved 138,000 trial mortgage modifications
for struggling homeowners since April 6, when it began processing trial
modifications through President Obama`s Making Home Affordable program.

Since 2007, Chase has continued to expand its comprehensive plan to keep
families in their homes, helping prevent 565,000 foreclosures - including the
138,000 trial modifications -- for Chase, WaMu and EMC customers. Another
155,000 applications are in the review process.

"We have made terrific progress since April 6 in helping families with trial
modifications by ramping up our capacity through hiring people, adding office
space and investing in technology," said Charlie Scharf, head of Retail
Financial Services at JPMorgan Chase & Co. "We also clearly understand that many
more families are anxious about their homes and need to hear from us as quickly
as possible. We are committed to do whatever is necessary to help homeowners who
qualify for these programs."

Trial Modifications Since April 6 Approved Borrower made first
modified payment
Making Home Affordable Modifications 87,100 44,100
Chase Modifications 50,900 9,500
Total Modifications 138,000 53,600

Chase has approved the trial modifications under:

The Making Home Affordable Program: Chase first determines whether struggling
homeowners qualify for this program and already has approved 87,100 trial
modifications; 44,100 of these customers have made their first modified payment.

For borrowers facing financial hardship, the program seeks to reduce mortgage
payments for principal, interest, property taxes and hazard insurance to 31
percent of their gross income, usually by reducing the interest rate or
extending the length of the loan.

Chase`s Modification Program: This program is used for loans that do not qualify
for the Making Home Affordable Program. Chase has approved 50,900 trial
modifications, and 9,500 of them have already made their first modified payment.

Both modification programs require the borrower to make three modified payments
in full and on time and to submit additional documentation, including income
verification, so that the modifications can become permanent.

"We are encouraged that more than 53,000 families have already made the first
payment for their trial modifications," Scharf said. "But we know it is
extremely early in the program, so it is difficult to gauge its ultimate
success."

Chase generally stops foreclosure while reviewing a mortgage for modification.
If a loan does not qualify for a Making Home Affordable or a Chase modification,
it is referred to the loss mitigation department, which will consider more
traditional plans as well as short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure.

Chase started taking steps to implement the Making Home Affordable Program
before initial details were announced in early March and began processing trial
loan modifications April 6 even as the government continues to make additional
key decisions about the program and communicate them to mortgage servicers.

"It has taken some time to put the resources in place to handle the
extraordinary customer demand during this crisis, to incorporate each update to
the Making Home Affordable Program, and then to properly evaluate each
borrower`s situation," Scharf said. "Over the last three months, we have made
great improvements and we expect the numbers of approved modifications to
continue to grow for some time."

In the last three months, there have been more than 1.9 million visits to
Chase`s www.chase.com/myhome website, which provides information to help
struggling homeowners, including downloadable applications for mortgage
modifications.

Since January 1, Chase has:

* Added 950 loan counselors, bringing the total to 3,500, and it plans to add
hundreds more in the weeks ahead.
* Hired 2,000 additional mortgage operations employees to handle the
unprecedented volume generated by the troubled economy and housing market.
* Opened 27 Chase Homeownership Centers - three more than originally planned --
where struggling borrowers around the country can meet face to face with trained
counselors. More than 20,000 borrowers have met with counselors at the centers.

Chase services about 10.3 million loans, including about 8 million loans for
investors.

About Chase

Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase &
Co. (NYSE:JPM), which operates more than 5,000 branches and 14,000 ATMs
nationally under the Chase and WaMu brands. Chase has 159 million credit cards
issued and serves consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs and
mortgage offices as well as through relationships with auto dealerships and
schools and universities. More information about Chase is available at
www.chase.com.

Chase
Media contact:
Thomas Kelly, (312) 732-7007, thomas.a.kelly@chase.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009