As quarterly home lending slowed and the servicing portfolio contracted, PHH Mortgage revealed plans to get out of correspondent lending and reduce its mortgage servicing rights.
Residential loan originations during the period that started on Jan. 1 and concluded on March 31 came to 17,668 loans for $7.955 billion.
Business declined from the fourth-quarter 2015, when
20,825 mortgages were closed for $8.842 billion.
The parent company, Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based PHH Corp., divulged the data, along with other operational and financial statistics, in its first-quarter 2016 earnings report.
Mortgage production tumbled from the first-quarter 2015, a period that saw
22,540 loans funded for $9.352 billion.
Despite the decline in originations, second-quarter 2016 business is looking better based on total applications — which rose to $12.3 billion in the first-three months of this year from $10.2 billion in the final-three months of last year.
However, interest rate lock commitments expected to close slipped 1 percent to $1.2 billion.
Of first-quarter 2016 volume, $6.353 billion came from retail private-label services, $1.341 billion was generated through retail real estate, and $0.261 billion was originated through the wholesale-correspondent channel.
PHH disclosed plans to close its correspondent lending channel.
Refinance share was 58 percent, climbing from 51 percent in the fourth-quarter 2015.
PHH serviced 628,104 loans for
$97.084 billion as of March 31, 2016.
The servicing portfolio declined from 642,379 loans for $99.869 billion as of the end of last year and 697,090 loans for $111.260 billion at the same point last year.
In addition, PHH sub-serviced $136.256 billion in mortgages as of the most-recent date.
The report said that options are being evaluated to substantially reduce MSRs that PHH owns.
Excluding foreclosures and real estate owned, delinquency of at least 30 days finished March 2016 at 2.09 percent.
The past-due rate improved from 2.47 percent as of Dec. 31, 2015, and 2.37 percent as of March 31, 2015.
The first-quarter 2016 foreclosure-REO rate was 1.42 percent.
Prior to income taxes, PHH had a $49 million loss,
not as bad as the $83 million fourth-quarter 2015 loss. But PHH swung from a $31 million first-quarter 2015 profit.
The Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company indicated that previously disclosed plans to pursue an acquisition strategy are being abandoned.
