UPDATE 1-JPMorgan modifies mortgages under govt program
* OKs 138,000 mortgage modifications since early April
* 155,000 more applications for modification under review
* Says has helped prevent 565,000 foreclosures since 2007
NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) has approved 138,000 trial mortgage modifications since early April, when it started modifying certain loans under a U.S. government program, the bank said on Tuesday.
Chase, JPMorgan's consumer and commercial bank, said it has helped prevent 565,000 foreclosures since 2007 through its own modification program and the government plan.
The bank, which generally halts foreclosure while assessing a mortgage for modification, said it is reviewing a further 155,000 applications for modifications.
Banks have been battling rising loan losses from mortgages as the financial crisis has spiraled and the U.S. unemployment rate has reached 9.4 percent.
The pace of home loan modifications climbed by 55 percent in the first quarter from the 2008 fourth quarter, but mortgage payment delinquencies and foreclosures are also rising, U.S. bank regulators said in a report on Tuesday. [ID:nN30432623] (Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by John Wallace)
