HEL exposure

JPM - 90 bilion, $450 mil expected loss Wells Fargo --banks will ratchet up provision for HEL loss --While banks can foreclose on a first-lien mortgage, lenders often have little recourse when trying to collect a delinquent home-equity loan, especially if another bank holds the primary mortgage. Banks holding home-equity loans generally can only seize the collateral -- a house -- after the mortgage is paid off. --Now, the steep decline in housing prices and weak economy are turning the home-equity business upside down. About 4.65% of fixed-rate home-equity loans were delinquent in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from 3.11% a year earlier, according to Equifax Inc. and Moody's Economy.com. --Other types of consumer loans also are souring, including credit cards and auto loans. But delinquent home-equity loans are rising faster, representing 12.5% of all delinquent loans in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank in stock-market value. That was up from 9.4% in last year's first quarter, according to research firm SNL Financial.