Wells Fargo (WFC) pushed its total number of permanent modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to 36,094. The Treasury Department launched HAMP in March 2009 to provide incentives to servicers for modifying loans on the verge of foreclosure. Participating servicers granted almost 300,000 permanent modifications through April 2010. A borrower must make three monthly payments during the trial stage to reach permanent status. Since the beginning of 2009, Wells had 505,059 active trial and permanent modifications through both HAMP and its own programs. Its total of 36,094 permanent modifications is behind only Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). According to the Treasury, Wells has more than 174,000 loans eligible for HAMP, with more than 171,000 starting three-month trials and 75,000 in active trials already. Its conversion rate from the trial period to permanent status is 25%, the same as Bank of America but below both HomeEq and Ocwen Financial who lead all servicers with an 83% conversion rate. Wells expects to complete modifications for 50% of those borrowers who’ve made the three trial payments. As of April 30, 2010, more than 146,000 borrowers have made those payments. “Our ongoing experience reinforces the fact that HAMP is an excellent tool that can benefit many homeowners dealing with payment challenges, but having a full range of options to address different customer circumstances is crucial to helping all of the borrowers who truly need assistance,” said Mike Heid, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage co-president. Wells added almost 11,000 home-retention staff since early 2009. Write to Jon Prior. The author holds no relevant investments.