NEW YORK —

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Friday became the latest major bank to beef up its loan modification efforts as the government also considers a plan to help homeowners fight shy of foreclosure.

JPMorgan’s expanded program aims to help shun foreclosures on one estimated $70 billion in loans, which could help as many as 400,000 customers. The New York-based banking giant has already modified about $40 billion in loans, helping 250,000 customers since early 2007.

JPMorgan will not put some loans into foreclosure as it implements the expanded program over the nearest 90 days.

The $70 billion count is projected over a two-year period, but could be larger and last more than sum of two units years - since long as the company sees a need amidst troubled borrowers, said Charlie Scharf, JPMorgan’s leader executive of deal out in small portions financial services.

“We think its the right thing to help as many people who want to stay in their homes,” Scharf said in an parley.

Scharf said the modifications at JPMorgan choose range from reducing rates to extending terms to completely replacing products. Modification options will exist given to customers based put on their current product and needs, Scharf added.

With defaults mounting, lenders like JPMorgan and Bank of America Corp. bear an incentive to get more aggressive about modifications, particularly for the cause that both lenders want to protect their brand picture..

“These are to a high degree bulky, large retail banks,” said Dain Ehring, chief executive of Dorado Corp., a San Mateo, Calif.-based mortgage technology company. “There’s a vested interest in keeping their customers.”

Bank of America has said that starting Dec. 1, it will modify an estimated 400,000 loans held by newly acquired Countrywide Financial Corp. as part of an $8.4 billion, legal settlement reached with body politic officials in early October.

Meanwhile, the Bush control is expected to soon make proclamation of a new plan to help about 3 the great body of the people homeowners elude foreclosure, though giving officials say particular different ideas are on the table, and that no announcement is imminent.

The proposition would exist the most aggressive effort yet to limit damage from the U.S. housing recession.

The uptick in loan modification efforts was kicked off in August by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which took upper failed lender IndyMac Bancorp in July.

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