AUGUSTA (AP) – Home foreclosures in Maine increased modestly during the last three months of 2008, while residential home delinquencies also were on the rise.

But Superintendent Lloyd LaFountain III of the state Bureau of Financial Institutions said one good sign was a decrease from the previous quarter in the number of initiated foreclosures.

The bureau released data Friday from 32 state-chartered banks and credit unions holding more than 87,000 mortgage loans.

LaFountain said foreclosure activity in Maine appears to be lower than in many other states and poses no threat to the stability of those financial institutions.