Flagstar Bancorp Inc. increased its quarterly mortgage production while cutting its quarterly losses. The company sold off some of its servicing and improved its servicing system.
The Troy, Mich.-based bank reported Wednesday that third-quarter first-mortgage residential originations were $6.9 billion.
Business jumped from the second quarter’s $4.6 billion and appears to be headed higher based on rate-lock commitments, which more than doubled from the prior quarter to $13.1 billion.
But, like most of the industry, Flagstar fell short of production in the third-quarter 2010 when fundings totaled $7.6 billion.
From January through September, first-mortgage production amounted to $16.4 billion.
The third-party servicing portfolio finished September at $56.8 billion, easing from $57.1 billion three months earlier. But the portfolio has grown from a year prior, when it stood at $52.3 billion. The portfolio balance reflected the sale of servicing rights on $4.6 billion in loans.
The company said it converted its legacy residential servicing system to “a nationally recognized loan servicing platform.” Flagstar said that it also restructured its servicing process — a move expected to improve efficiencies and loss mitigation activity.
Flagstar owned $3.8 billion in residential first mortgages, up from $3.7 billion as of the end of June. Second-mortgage holdings eased slightly to $0.1 billion, and home-equity line-of-credit assets were a little lower at $0.2 billion.
Also on the balance sheet were $1.0 billion in warehouse lending assets, nearly doubling the $0.5 billion on the books three months prior.
Commercial real estate loans climbed to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion in the second quarter.
Flagstar had 1,725 repurchase demands outstanding in the third quarter, growing from 1,635 in the prior period. During just the third quarter, 830 new agency repurchase demands were received.
Before taxes, Flagstar had a $9 million loss. The company cut its losses from $70 million in the prior quarter and $18 million in the same quarter last year.
The staff of loan officers and account executives was 306 people as of Sept. 30, fewer than the 316 people employed at the end of second quarter but more than the 285 employees as of a year earlier.
In addition, another 2,993 people were employed by Flagstar Bancorp, three more than at the end of June.
Home loan centers in operation totaled 29 as of Sept. 30, one less than in the second quarter. Flagstar also operated 162 branches, though it has reached an agreement to sell 49 branches.
