Relief has begun to arrive for many Hawaii homeowners threatened by foreclosure under a settlement between the five largest U.S. mortgage lenders and the state and federal government.

Some $40 million in mortgage debt obligations were alleviated for 362 Hawaii homeowners between March and June, according to an initial progress report released Wednesday by the federal Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight.

The reported relief represents just a leading, and relatively small, edge of what should be a large wave of financial help for homeowners statewide struggling with mortgage payments.

Five lenders — Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and GMAC Mortgage parent Ally Financial Inc. — agreed to a historic

$25 billion national relief package in February to settle foreclosure abuse allegations brought by the federal government and 49 state attorneys general.

The relief may be delivered over three years, though financial incentives encourage lenders to act quickly.

Hawaii’s share of the settlement totaled $71 million, but that figure is misleading in an understated way because of how the value of relief is calculated and reported.

Lenders receive partial or full credits toward the $71 million depending on what kind of relief they provide. For instance, they get more credit for a principal loan balance reduction. They get less for a “short sale” in which homeowners sell their homes for less than they owe with no obligation to repay the shortfall. Credits can be as little as 5 cents on the dollar.

Steve Levins, a Hawaii deputy attorney general involved with the issue, said the “vast majority” of relief is still on the way.

“This is just the beginning,” he said of the report’s results. “It’s really just an early snapshot.”

According to the report, nearly all of the relief nationally — $8.7 billion of $10.6 billion — reflected short sales that can earn lenders credits of 20 cents to 45 cents on the dollar.

Hawaii short-sale relief accounted for $35 million of the $40 million in relief through June. But factoring the credit value of short sales, it’s estimated that lenders have satisfied only $7 million to $16 million of their $71 million obligation to Hawaii borrowers.

Levins said the preponderance of short-sale relief is understandable because it’s quicker and easier compared with loan modifications that require underwriting.

Lenders must direct much of their financial relief at loan balance reductions, and can earn credit bonuses for reducing loans before March 1, 2013. There’s also a cap on short sales, while penalties can be imposed for not meeting loan reduction requirements.

At the federal level, about $10 billion of the $25 billion must go toward principal loan balance reductions under the settlement.

During the four months covered by the report, only about $1 billion in principal reductions were made nationally, and the nation’s largest lender, Bank of America, hadn’t done any.

In Hawaii, only $528,045 in principal reductions were made, representing an average reduction of $88,008 for six borrowers, the report said. Other types of relief for Hawaii borrowers included forgiving $1.3 million in second mortgages for 14 borrowers eliminating an average debt of $93,908, and refinancing 14 loans at lower interest rates providing average borrower relief of $11,158.

The average short-sale debt forgiveness was $137,178 on 254 sales.

Not included in the $40 million total were 56 trial loan modifications approved or started that could eliminate $9.3 million in loan debt, or $165,559 on average per borrower.

Michelle Saito, a Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties agent who directs sale efforts of foreclosed homes, said lenders have become much more proactive with short sales, loan modifications and deed transfers to avoid foreclosure.

It’s not uncommon for lenders to offer $3,000 to $4,000 in relocation expenses to a borrower giving up their home to avert foreclosure, she said.

Saito said the settlement is one major reason for foreclosure avoidance, though other factors also are at work, such as changes to Hawaii’s foreclosure law, other federal programs and new guidelines going into effect soon for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Levins said the five lenders are scheduled to provide a more comprehensive report to states in November that should give a better picture of the broad relief effort.

Of the $71 million of Hawaii’s promised relief,

$30 million must go toward principal reduction; $20 million is for other debt relief including loan modifications and short sales; $9.3 million is for refinancing loans;

$8.2 million is for assistance programs such as credit counseling and mediation; and $3.2 million is for one-time direct payments of up to $2,000 to borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure from 2008 to 2011.

Levins said claim forms for the direct payments are to be mailed out soon to more than 1,600 eligible homeowners.

For homeowners not current on their mortgage payments or in danger of default, Levins said they should contact their lender about possible relief if their lender hasn’t contacted them. Levins also said people having difficulty with relief issues should contact the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight at mortgageoversight.com or the Hawaii Attorney General at 586-1500 or hawaii.gov/ag.

Other information about relief and the settlement, including phone numbers for the five lenders, is available at nationalmortgagesettlement.com.