The Department of the Treasury released its fifth report card on how mortgage lenders are doing modifying loans for eligible homeowners under the government’s Making Home Affordable program (see the first, second, third, and fourth report cards).

Eighteen lenders started modifications for less than 24% of their eligible loans, below the national average. Only ten lenders modified 24% or more of their eligible loans. Last month, eighteen lenders modified fewer loans than the national average, while ten lenders modified more loans than the national average. In Illinois, 37,552 trial and permanent modifications were started, up 12 percent from 33,514 last month; data on the number of eligible loans by state has not been provided. In the Chicagoland Metropolitan Statistical Area, 36,208 trial and permanent modifications have started.

Here at Woodstock Institute, we’re tracking the mortgage lenders active in the Chicago area to see how they’re performing on their commitment to reducing monthly payments for distressed homeowners. Check back here every month to see who’s getting better—or worse. Note: these numbers reflect the national portfolio of these banks, not just the loans in the Chicago area. Local servicer data is not available.

The November report card includes data on permanent modifications for the first time. Since long-lasting reductions in foreclosures depend on converting three- to five-month trial modifications to permanent ones, this data is crucial for monitoring progress. So far, only 4 percent of trial modifications have converted to permanent modifications nationally.

Here are the results for performance through November 2009: