(REUTERS) The number of new home foreclosures jumped by more than 21 percent in the third quarter as banks moved more aggressively after a pause that began late last year, according to a report released by a bank regulator on Wednesday.

In the final months of 2010 some big lenders, including Bank of America Corp, suspended foreclosure proceedings as they reviewed their methods for dealing with troubled borrowers.

With those reviews completed, the pace of foreclosures is picking up.

In its report, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said that the number of new foreclosures also increased from the previous quarter because banks have exhausted alternatives to foreclosure for the large inventory of seriously delinquent mortgages working through the system.

While the number of new foreclosures in the third quarter was much higher than in the previous quarter, it was 11.8 percent less than a year ago.

(Reporting By Dave Clarke; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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