JPMorgan pulls back from mortgage lending on foreclosure worries

[Crewleader]

by David Henry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co, the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, is backing away from making home loans to less creditworthy borrowers after losing faith in its ability to recover much money from foreclosing on homes, even with government guarantees.

The shift reflects a change in the way JPMorgan runs its mortgage business: while it used to regard collateral and U.S. government lending programs as key backstops to most of its loans, it now pays closer attention to the credit quality of borrowers. The bank wants to reduce the chances of having to foreclose on a loan, because it's bad business.

"The cost to take a customer through the foreclosure process is just astronomical now," Kevin Watters, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase's residential mortgage banking business in New York, told Reuters in an interview.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jpmorgan-pulls-back-mortgage-lending-foreclosure-worries-194104579--sector.html

[Demeter]

1. You don't say!

Who would have thought that the bank should avoid losing money.