NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a sign that banks are stepping up their efforts to combat foreclosures, lenders intervened to help prevent 239,000 foreclosures last month, according to a report released Thursday.
Hope Now, a coalition of lenders, investors in mortgage-backed securities and community advocacy groups, said that December marked the fourth consecutive month that its members had arranged more than 200,000 mortgage workouts.
For all of 2008, the number of interventions approached 2.3 million, Hope Now said.
"The December results demonstrate that Hope Now members are moving aggressively to do what's needed to avoid preventable foreclosures," said Faith Schwartz, Hope Now's director. She adds that says that fewer homes were lost to foreclosure in December thanks also to seasonal factors, since lenders tend to ease up on repossessions during the holidays, and to foreclosure moratoriums implemented recently by some lenders, including mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500).
She also credited very low mortgage interest rates, with helping people refinance and stay in their homes. "That's very helpful for homeowners who have good credit and are not underwater," she said. "They can refinance into more affordable loans." First Published: January 29, 2009: 10:16 AM ET
