Residential loan originations fell in 2011, and some lenders saw more of a decline than others — though a few firms eked out a gain. The government’s role in residential finance was reduced last year as private capital crept back into the market. Half of all the U.S. mortgage market last year was controlled by three lenders.
Fourth-quarter residential originations by all lenders were an estimated $381 billion, based on an analysis of production activity by Mortgage Daily.
Volume was up from an estimated $317 billion closed by U.S. lenders in the third quarter.
The biggest U.S. lender in the fourth quarter was Wells Fargo &Â Co., which reported that volume climbed to $120 billion from the third quarter’s $89 billion.
Next was JPMorgan Chase &Â Co., where business grew to $39 billion from $37 billion.
No. 3, Bank of America Corp., saw production fall more than any other top-10 lender:Â 34 percent. The contraction came as the company decided to exit correspondent lending.
The best performance by a top-10 originator was U.S. Bancorp, where production climbed 51 percent from the third quarter.
| Lender | Q4-2011 | Q3-2011 | Q4-2010 |
| Wells Fargo | $120.0 | $89.0 | $128.0 |
| Chase | $38.9 | $37.1 | $51.1 |
| BofA | $22.4 | $33.8 | $86.8 |
| Citi | $21.1 | $17.0 | $21.8 |
| U.S. Bank | $17.4 | $11.5 | $19.6 |
| Ally | $16.5 | $15.6 | $23.2 |
| PHH | $15.6 | $12.7 | $18.4 |
| Quicken | $10.8 | $8.4 | $10.2 |
| Flagstar | $10.2 | $6.9 | $9.2 |
| Provident Funding | $8.7 | $6.3 | $9.5 |
Home-loan production from all lenders during the entire year of 2011 was around $1.3 trillion, falling from approximately $1.6 trillion originated the previous year.
There were $206 billion in loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration last year, giving FHAÂ a market share of around 16 percent. In 2010, FHAÂ insured roughly 19 percent of all mortgages.
Loans that were purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac accounted for approximately 74 percent of 2011 business, lower than the 78 percent share a year earlier.
The government owns FHAÂ and controls Fannie and Freddie, making the United States responsible for around 90 percent of home loans originated last year. But that was lower than the approximately 97 percent market share held by the government in 2010.
Wells Fargo dominated the annual rankings despite that its volume was off 8 percent from 2010.
BofA’s 49 percent year-over-year decline was the most of the big players, though the company still landed in the No. 2 spot for 2011.
BofA, Chase and Wells Fargo were responsible for about half of all production during 2011.
PHH saw annual production rise 6 percent for the year, the best annual performance of top-ranking lenders.Top-10 Servicers as of Dec. 31 2011
(in billions)
| Lender | 2011 | Q2010 |
| Wells Fargo | $357.0 | $386.5 |
| BofA | $156.1 | $306.5 |
| Chase | $146.7 | $156.8 |
| Citigroup | $63.2 | $61.9 |
| Ally | $56.2 | $69.5 |
| PHH | $51.9 | $49.0 |
| U.S. Bank | $49.1 | $55.8 |
| Quicken | $30.0 | $29.0 |
| Flagstar | $26.6 | $26.5 |
| BB&T | $23.7 | $24.9 |
Based on mortgage servicing portfolios, including third-party servicing, mortgages owned and home-equity products owned, Wells Fargo’s $1.822 trillion portfolio was the biggest of any servicer.
Around $10.3 trillion in outstanding U.S. loans are being serviced by all mortgage servicers.
(in billions)
| Lender | Portfolio |
| Wells Fargo & Co. | $1,822.0 |
| Bank of America | $1,763.0 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $1,100.2 |
| Citigroup Inc. | $531.9 |
| Ally Financial | $354.3 |
| U.S. Bancorp | $228.2 |
| PNC Bank | $188.1 |
| PHH Corp. | $182.4 |
| SunTrust Bank Inc. | $157.8 |
| OneWest Bank (as of June 30) | $118.9 |
