Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) more than doubled their loan modifications in the first quarter of 2009 from the same period a year earlier, their regulator said Tuesday.

The 37,000 loans modified by the government-controlled mortgage giants during the first quarter also represented a 57% increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The first quarter total does not reflect loan modifications completed under a new government program to help strapped borrowers, the agency said.

The report reflects actions taken by Fannie and Freddie on the 30 million residential mortgages they own or guarantee. That number represents 56% of all U.S. mortgages outstanding, but just 22% of all seriously delinquent loans. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James B. Lockhart said Fannie and Freddie had made big strides on modifications. "As a result, more homeowners are seeing payments significantly reduced and fewer people will lose their homes."

-Jessica Holzer, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9228; jessica.holzer@dowjones.com