Delinquencies on home mortgages fell for the first time in more than two years while the number of newly initiated foreclosures rose sharply in the the first quarter of this year, U.S. banking regulators said on Wednesday.

The total number of serious delinquencies fell 7.5 percent to 2.2 million, while the number of newly initiated foreclosures rose 18.6 percent to 370,856 in the first quarter, according to a report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision. Delinquencies are 36 percent higher than a year ago.

(Reporting by Corbett B. Daly; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Mortgage Fall