As has frequently been the case during the current earnings season, quarter-over-quarter mortgage lending was down while annual activity was up at Huntington Bancshares Inc.
Residential loans closed during the final three months of 2015 at Huntington worked out to $1.012 billion.
The details along with other financial data were discussed in the Columbus, Ohio-based financial institution’s fourth-quarter 2015 earnings report.
Business fell from $1.259 billion in the third quarter.
But mortgage production at Huntington improved from the fourth-quarter 2014, when $0.922 billion in home loans were originated.
Full-year 2015 residential loan originations amounted to $4.705 billion,
more than the $3.558 billion closed in all of 2014.
At the end of last month, Huntington serviced $16.168 billion in mortgages for other parties.
The servicing portfolio grew from $15.941 billion as of Sept. 30 and $15.637 billion as of year-end 2014.
As of the end of last year, Huntington owned $14.469 billion in residential assets, off from
$14.532 billion owned as of Sept. 30 but up from $14.322 billion as of year-end 2014.
The most-recent residential assets included $5.998 billion in mortgages and $8.471 billion in home-equity loans.
The 30-day rate on home loans was 3.28 percent as of the fourth-quarter 2015, worse than 3.08 percent three months earlier. But loan performance has improved from the end of 2014, when the rate was 3.84 percent.
Huntington’s balance sheet included $5.268 billion in commercial real estate loans, less than $5.404 billion three months earlier but expanded from $5.197 billion one year earlier.
The Dec. 31, 2015, total included $4.237 billion in commercial mortgages and $1.031 billion in construction loans.
Mortgage banking income was $31 million, improving from $19 million in the third quarter and $14 million in the fourth-quarter 2014.
Net income before taxes at the holding-company level improved to $234 million from $200 million and was also better than $221 million in the year-earlier period.
The fourth-quarter 2015 finished with an average staff of 12,418 people, up from 12,367 three months earlier and 11,875 one year earlier.
Branch count was increased to 777 from 756 at the end of September.
