3 Biggest Lenders Close Over Half of U.S. Mortgages

3 Biggest Lenders Close Over Half of U.S. Mortgages

DALLAS — (Feb. 15, 2011) /PRNewswire/ More than half of last year’s originations were generated by just three lenders, according to the Fourth Quarter 2010 Mortgage Lender Ranking from MortgageDaily.com. The share of government-insured loans was higher.

Home loan closings by U.S. lenders during 2010 were around $1.530 trillion, down from 2009’s roughly $1.970 trillion. A closing occurs when a borrower signs new loan documents.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase originated 56 percent of last year’s business.

FHA’s 2010 share was around 19.8%, edging up from 19.1% a year earlier.

Wells’ $387 billion in 2010 fundings made it the biggest lender, though business was down 8%.

The most growth versus 2009 among top-15 lenders came from PHH, where production climbed 30%. PNC’s 45% drop was the weakest performance.

Annual Originations

Lenders tracked by Mortgage Daily saw fourth-quarter production climb 22% from the third quarter and 30% from the fourth-quarter 2009.

Wells also dominated fourth-quarter production, with business improving more than a quarter. PHH’s 45% improvement was the best among the players, while USAA was the only top-15 player to see a decline: 22%.

Quarterly Originations

Lenders are also ranked by the balances of the mortgages they service. Servicing involves the collection of payments, loan accounting and disbursements to investors. BofA maintained its standing as the biggest servicer with a portfolio in excess of $2 trillion.

Servicing Portfolio