BALANCED APPROACH: Five of the biggest U.S. banks cut struggling homeowners' mortgage balances by $19 billion, part of $45.8 billion in relief under a 2012 settlement over foreclosure abuses.

HALF A MILLION STRONG: More than 550,000 borrowers received some form of mortgage relief between March 1 and Dec. 31, 2012. That translates to an average of about $82,668 per homeowner.

BIGGEST REDUCERS: Of the roughly $19 billion in reduced mortgage principal, Bank of America Corp. provided $13.5 billion; JPMorgan Chase & Co., $1.8 billion; Citigroup Inc., $1.9 billion; Wells Fargo & Co., $1.4 billion; and Ally Financial Inc., $238 million.