One in five homeowners whose mortgages were modified under a program designed to reduce the number of foreclosures defaulted again within a year after their payments were cut, the US Comptroller of the Currency reported yesterday.

Twenty percent of modified loans were at least 90 days delinquent within a year in the second quarter, according to the Comptroller’s “Mortgage Metrics Report.”

Delinquencies for loans 30 to 59 days late increased 0.4 percentage points to 3 percent from the previous quarter.

Mortgage delinquencies have increased amid slow economic growth and a US unemployment rate that’s been 9 percent or higher since April.

Mortgage default notices from banks sent to delinquent homeowners surged 33 percent in August from the previous month, reports said.