5 Biggest U.S. Mortgage Lenders
January 28, 2008
DALLAS — (Jan. 28, 2008) Among the five biggest U.S. mortgage lenders last year, three saw their originations fall from the previous year, according to a preliminary analysis of earnings data by http://www.MortgageDaily.com.
Countrywide Financial Corp. maintained its standing as the No. 1 residential lender, with a reported $408.2 billion in residential production during 2007. But the mortgage behemoth saw a decline from 2006, when it reported $462.5 billion in volume.
A pending merger between California-based Countrywide and North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. will create a company that is likely to originate in the neighborhood of between $425 billion and $475 billion a year — far more than any competitor.
Wells Fargo & Co. maintained its No. 2 spot, though the San Francisco-based giant also reported a drop in annual fundings.
Citigroup Inc., with $151.9 billion in reported originations last year, bumped Washington Mutual Inc. from the No. 5 spot.
Citi, along with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and BoA, actually saw an increase in residential volume from 2006.
JPMorgan is rumored to be considering an acquisition of WaMu. A combined company, with annual originations that would likely be between $275 billion and $325 billion, would have the potential to unseat Wells as the No. 2 biggest U.S. mortgage lender.
| Lender Ranking by Residential Volume 2007 Full Year (billions) |
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| Lender Ranking by Residential Volume 2007 4th Quarter (billions) |
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“While last year was quite volatile for U.S. mortgage bankers, recent actions by the Federal Reserve as well as a flight to quality by investors has helped push mortgage rates lower,” said MortgageDaily.com Publisher Sam Garcia. “As a result, mortgage originators have seen refinance activity pick up recently and are likely to see an increase in funded loans during the first quarter of 2008 compared the fourth quarter 2007.”
Complete residential production news and data available at:
http://www.MortgageDaily.com/Fundings.asp?spcode=pr
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