"What you hear is that a lot of people kind of hunker down when they're getting into trouble with their mortgages, and maybe just stop opening the mail," said Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. special adviser Mike Krimminger.

After the FDIC took over the bankrupt bank in July, it mailed letters to 35,000 mortgage holders offering to help them with generous terms, including reduced interest rates, waived interest payments and extended repayment plans, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

But more than half of those homeowners never responded to the letters, the Times said.

In the mailing, about 20,000 were sent to seriously delinquent homeowners. In that group under 20 percent responded to the letters, which were sent through regular mail, the Times said.

The response was actually "remarkably off the chart," said Krimminger. Other programs experience response rates under 5 percent, he said. "So, I'm pleased, but also frustrated because I'd like it to be a lot higher," he said.