The article gives Astoria Financial Corp. as an example. At the end of 2007, Astoria reported $106 million in nonperforming loans, and by the end of March 2008 nonperforming loans had declined to $68 million. The reason for the improvement: Astoria redefined nonperforming loans as missing three payments, instead of two.
And another example:
Wells Fargo ... had written off home-equity loans ... once borrowers fell 120 days behind on payments. But on April 1, the bank started waiting for up to 180 days.This is a significant change considering the size of Wells Fargo's HELOC portfolio ($83.6 billion) and heavy exposure to California.