In September 2010, Bank of America filed 462 petitions to foreclose in Massachusetts. Last month, in the wake of a nationwide robo-signing scandal and a self-imposed foreclosure moratorium, the nation’s largest bank filed only four.

Combined, the 10 banks filing the most foreclosure petitions in September filed more than 60 percent of the 6,951 total foreclosure petitions filed in the six-month period between September and February, according to an analysis of data provided by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Comparing September – before the robo-signing controversy broke – to February, each of these 10 banks filed at least 57 percent fewer foreclosure petitions. And in most cases, the drops were far more drastic.

When the robo-signing scandal hit last fall, several large national banks declared a moratorium on foreclosures. But by late October, lenders were confidently declaring that their internal reviews were nearly complete, and with the White House’s blessing, they were poised to ramp their foreclosure processes back up.

Three months into the new year, however, none of that has happened.

Running Scared

Wells Fargo’s monthly filings fell 70 percent. Citimortgage, the mortgage lending arm of Citibank, filed 211 petitions in September – but only 13 in January, and just three in February. Deutsche Bank’s February filings were less than half their September numbers. U.S. Bank’s fell by 60 percent, GMAC’s by nearly 80 percent.

In a February corporate earnings statement, Bank of America said it had completed its review of foreclosure procedures in 23 states, and had begun ramping up foreclosures. Calls to the bank to determine whether the moratorium was still in place for Massachusetts – thus explaining, at least in part, the drastic drop in foreclosure petitions filed here – were not returned.

Part of the reason for the local slowdown in started foreclosures is certainly the extension of Massachusetts’ right-to-cure period. A bill which went into effect last August lengthened the period between when a bank notifies a borrower of his delinquency and when it can initiate foreclosure to 150 days, from 90. For the big banks, accommodating the new state law took some time.

“It took us a while to implement the new form requiring a 150-day demand notice,” said Mark Rodgers, a spokesperson for Citibank.

But attorneys who work with banks say that behind the scenes, the robo-signing scandal is still impacting the foreclosure process. Far from a mere procedural review occupying only a few weeks, attorneys have dealt with months of intensive questioning from major lenders attempting to overhaul their procedures, and many have yet to issue authorization to begin filing foreclosures again.

The foreclosure delay does not appear to have prompted a surge in other types of delinquency resolution. Brokers and others who work with delinquent borrowers seeking short sales and loan modifications report steady interest, but no surges in new clients or approvals from banks.

“We’re still getting a steady 50 or 60 new clients a month for short sales, and we’ve been seeing that since August,” said Anthony LaMacchia, co-broker/owner of McGeough Lamacchia Realty in Waltham. “So I don’t think the dynamic has changed a lot as far as more people wanting to do it. The reason why the foreclosures are delayed is definitely the lenders and the attorneys are scared.”

‘Dramatic’ Drop

One reason for the delay may be the bank’s worsening legal troubles. Simultaneous investigations of servicers’ foreclosure practices by federal regulatory agencies and the 50 states’ attorneys general are ongoing. The biggest lenders and servicers are involved in settlement talks which may result in fines and new rules for foreclosure procedures. Banks may be holding back on foreclosures until they have a clearer sense of their legal obligations.

“We think it’s primarily because of all the revelations about what the banks were doing and all the regulatory things that our state, and the other states’ attorneys general have been doing,” said Evelyn Friedman, director of the Department of Neighborhood Development and chief of housing for the city of Boston. “In August, when the right-to-cure law went through, there was a big drop, and in October when the robo-signing [scandal broke], big drop. It’s been dramatic.”

The slowdown is acting to prolong the foreclosure crisis, even as other signs of housing market health have begun to improve. Mortgage delinquency rates fell to 8.2 percent of mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential, according to a February report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the lowest rate since the beginning of 2008.

But with so many already-delinquent borrowers in limbo, it is difficult to tell how severe the problem remains.

“If the owners leave, then you’ve got a vacant property sitting in the neighborhood, and that can be a big problem,” Friedman said. “If we have a lot of those, I’d rather see the foreclosures move forward so that the properties can get back into positive use. The worst thing is to have the properties just sitting there.”

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, U.S. Bank, GMAC, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, HSBC and PHH Mortgage Corp. did not return repeated calls seeking comment for this story.