Flagstar Bancorp Inc. increased the number of loan origination centers it operates by nearly a quarter while managing to trim its mortgage sales force by 4 percent. Home-loan originations were higher and losses were lower.
With a 40 percent leap in residential production from the second quarter, Flagstar’s residential volume was $7.6 billion, according to earnings data. Fundings were also better than the same time last year, when $6.6 billion in home loans closed.
Year-to-date Sept. 30, the Troy, Mich.-based firm originated a total of $17.4 billion. This year’s activity included $9.9 billion in correspondent originations, $6.0 billion in mortgage broker business and $1.4 billion in retail volume.
An indication of upcoming mortgage production, rate-lock commitments, jumped nearly a third from the previous period to $11 billion.
The third-party servicing portfolio closed out the quarter at $52.287 billion, higher than $50.385 billion three months earlier but less than $53.160 billion a year prior.
Loans held for investment edged down to $7.3 billion from $7.4 billion at the end of June. The total was $8.1 billion at the same point last year. The Sept. 30 figure reflected $4.5 billion in first mortgages, $0.2 billion in second mortgages and $1.3 billion in commercial real estate loans. It also included $0.9 billion in warehouse lending assets — the only category that was higher.
Flagstar Bancorp had an $18 million third-quarter loss, better than the $92 million the company lost in the prior period and a vast improvement from the $179 million loss a year earlier.
Flagstar also disclosed the launch of a $380 million public-equity offering.
Account executives and loan officers employed at Flagstar as of the end of last month numbered 285, fewer than 296 at the end of June and 436 on Sept. 30, 2009.
In addition, the bank employed 2,922 people who were not in mortgage sales, up from 2,885 on June 30 but less than Sept. 30, 2009’s 3,220.
