Banks Seek Mortgage Work-Outs.

NEW YORK -- Some trends are developing in the way the nations biggest banks have begun to work out new forbearance and refinance agreements with borrowers facing adjustable-rate mortgage resets that will lead to higher payments many of the borrowers will be unable to make.

The American Banker, an affiliate of the Credit Union Journal, said interviews with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Fifth Third Bancorp, SunTrust Banks Inc., and HSBC Holdings PLC, found lenders have clearly stepped up their outreach in advance of interest rate resets. Where modifications are not feasible, short sales have caught on as a possibly less costly alternative.

At the same time, lenders …