Home-loan production picked up from the second quarter at Citigroup Inc., though business lags the level of volume generated a year ago. A decline was reported in the size of the residential servicing portfolio and the home-loan delinquency rate. Company-wide earnings worsened thanks to a one-time charge.
From July1 through Sept. 30, residential originations totaled $14.5 billion, according to quarterly earnings data released Monday.
While business was better than in the second quarter, when production was $12.9 billion, it wasn’t as good as the third-quarter 2011, when $17.0 billion in home loans were funded.
Year-to-date production at the New York-based company totals $41.7 billion.
The third-party mortgage servicing portfolio finished September at $184.9 billion, shrinking from $190.8 billion three months earlier and $196.6 billion a year earlier. In addition, another $155.1 billion was serviced by for investors by Citi Holdings, dropping from $168.4 billion three months earlier and $207.2 billion a year earlier.
Citigroup’s first-mortgage holdings increased to $93.3 billion from $92.0 billion as of June 30. At the same point last year, the total was $95.1 billion.
Ninety-day delinquency on first mortgages, including net credit losses but excluding government mortgages, was 4.64 percent based on loan balances, falling from 4.86 percent at the end of the prior period. But the rate wasn’t as good as a year prior, when the rate was 4.55 percent.
The company owned $38.6 billion in home-equity loans, falling from $40.4 billion three months earlier and $44.9 billion a year earlier.
HEL 90-day delinquency was 4.48 percent, surging from the second quarter’s 3.32 percent but better than 3.50 percent a year prior.
Citi Holdings continued to whittle down its assets, cutting its residential first mortgage portfolio to $59.9 billion from $62.6 billion. The portfolio, which is included in the Citigroup total, was $69.6 billion a year prior. The home-equity portfolio was reduced to $35.4 billion from $37.2 billion and was $41.3 billion as of Sept. 30, 2011.
First mortgage delinquency of at least 30 days at Citi Holdings eased to 6.77 percent from 6.91 percent in the second quarter and was also lower than 7.19 percent at the same point in 2011.
Citi Holding’s 30-day HEL delinquency was better, declining to 1.52 percent from 1.59 percent. A year earlier, the rate was 1.92 percent.
After adding $7 million for new sales, upping its estimate by $200 million and realizing $167 million in losses, Citigroup’s repurchase reserve balance grew from $1.477 billion in the second quarter to $1.517 billion.
Citi Holdings had a $3.6 billion loss, deepening from the $0.9 billion loss in the prior quarter and the $1.2 billion loss in the same quarter during the prior year.
Income from continuing operations before income taxes for all of Citigroup swung to a $1.0 billion loss from a $3.7 billion second-quarter profit. Citi earned $5.0 billion in the same period last year. The report indicated that third-quarter results included a pre-tax loss of $4.7 billion as a result of a previously announced sale of a 14 percent interest and other-than-temporary impairment of the carrying value of Citi’s remaining 35 percent interest in the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney joint venture.
As of the end of September, 262,000 people were employed at the financial services conglomerate, a thousand more than at the end of June. Headcount fell, however, from 267,000 at the same point last year.
Citi has eliminated 11 global consumer banking branches since the second quarter, leaving branch count at 4,069. At Citi Holdings, North America branch count fell to 1,582 from 1,592.
