The number of registered loan originators fell by 2 percent during the most-recent three-month period. Although the count was down just 1 percent at banks and credit unions– a steeper 6 percent drop hit non-bank originators.
As of March 31, mortgage loan originators registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System totaled 504,772, according to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
Registered loan officers declined from the end of 2012, when 513,898 originators were registered. But the total expanded from the same point last year, when 482,080 were registered.
Combined state and federal registrations for the first-quarter 2013 were adjusted to reflect 2,973 individuals that maintained registrations both with the state registry and the federal registry.
The most-recent total included 112,970 loan originators with 252,555 state registrations.
The number of state-registered originators declined from 120,142 three months earlier but has expanded from 105,595 a year earlier.
After slipping in the fourth quarter of last year to a little more than 20,000, the number of individual mortgage loan originator applications moved past 25,000 in the first quarter.
The number of originators included in the federal registry fell to 394,775 from 399,286 at the end of last year. But federally registered originators increased from 379,605 at the same point last year.
Nationally chartered banks employed 58 percent of federally registered originators in the first quarter, while state-chartered banks were home to 30 percent and credit unions accounted for 12 percent.
A total of 26,292 companies and financial institutions were NMLS-registered, fewer than the 27,616 that were registered as of the end of last year and 26,339 as of the same date last year.
The first-quarter 2013 total was adjusted for the 101 companies that were registered on both a state and federal basis. Both prior-period numbers were also adjusted to reflect dual-entity registrations.
There were 15,842 state-registered companies with 32,797 licenses, while 19,046 branches carried 34,295 state licenses.
More than 85 percent of state-licensed companies broker first mortgages, while just under half broker second mortgages. Around a fifth indicated that they do first mortgage lending, just over 10 percent do second mortgage lending and just under a fifth are in the business of home-equity lending. Less than 15 percent broker commercial mortgages, and under 10 percent service loans.
Of the 3.3 million loans originated by state-licensed companies last year for $764 billion, 74 percent were conventional loans, 18 percent were loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration and 7 percent were loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Refinance share was 68 percent.
Federally registered financial institutions numbered 10,551 in the first quarter,
Of the latest financial institution total, 47 percent were state-chartered banks, 37 percent were credit unions and 16 percent were nationally chartered banks.
