Since the start of conservatorship in 2008, government wards Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed more than 2.3 million foreclosure prevention actions, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. These actions include 1.1 million permanent loan modifications. Nine months after modification, less than 15 percent of the loans modified in the second quarter of 2011 had missed two or more payments, while half of all borrowers who received loan mods in 1Q12 had their monthly payments reduced by more than 30 percent. Consumer credit performance deteriorated in May largely because of mortgages, according to...