The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) addressed a letter to Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved lenders updating claim filings and delinquency reporting requirements for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Through HAMP, the US Treasury Department allocates capped incentives to servicers for the modification of distressed loans. According to the latest progress report from the Treasury, servicers participating in HAMP reached 500,000 trial modifications in progress. Under the new guidelines for FHA’s HAMP, lenders may immediately begin using updated status codes for FHA’s single-family default monitoring system (SFDMS), according to HUD’s letter. But lenders must begin reporting the updated status codes in January 2010. Under the updated Code 39, FHA lenders must report borrowers that have been approved for a HAMP trial payment plan. Code 41 dictates that lenders report borrowers, who have successfully completed the HAMP trial process and have rolled over into the completion stage of the modification. But some analysts and researchers raised concerns on HAMP’s role in the recovery. The Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), which reviews and reports on actions taken by the US Treasury Department, questioned the permanence of HAMP and whether or not it was designed for the amount of eligible loans servicers are currently trying to modify. Write to Jon Prior.