Wells Fargo & Co., the bank that gained a portfolio of option adjustable-rate mortgages when it bought Wachovia Corp. last year, cut the principal for delinquent borrowers in some loans by as much as 30%.

     Wells Fargo has forgiven an average of $46,000 in principal, or 15%, for the 43,500 option-ARM loans it has modified this year through September, said Franklin Codel, chief financial officer at the bank's home-lending unit. The San Francisco-based lender has cut as much as 30% off the loan principal in a few "rare exceptions," with the ceiling typically capped at 20%, Codel said.

 

                                               Don Schaller

                                               Broker/Owner

                                               Schaller Family Realtors

                                               Dickson Realty, Truckee

                                               dschaller@suddenlink.net