A handful of small residential and commercial mortgage bankers have reported an increase in business this past year, while some firms that saw a decline in closings managed to grow their servicing portfolios.
Quarterly fundings tumbled at USAA Federal Savings Bank.
Volume fell to more than 20,000 loans for $4.0 billion in the fourth quarter from 24,000 home loans for $5.1 billion during the third quarter, the company reported to MortgageDaily.com. USAA closed $4.1 billion in the fourth-quarter 2009.
For all of 2010, the San Antonio, Texas-based institution closed $16.7 billion, just short of the $17.3 billion originated in 2009.
USAA’s mortgage servicing portfolio finished 2010 at more than 360,000 loans for over $69 billion. A year earlier, the servicing portfolio was $50 billion.
Closings climbed to 3,700 loans for $850 million in the fourth quarter at LendingTree Loans from the third quarter’s 3,300 mortgages for $721 million, according to earnings data. LendingTree funded 2,700 loans for $623 million in the fourth-quarter 2009.
LendingTree’s Originations amounted to $2.8 billion last year, falling a hair short of $2.9 billion originated in 2009.
Last year’s production at Arvest Bank was 12,415 mortgages for $1.78 billion, the Fayetteville, Ark.-based institution reported. Business was generated by 130 loans officers. The bank originated 13,248 loans totaling $1.94 billion in 2009.
Arvest said that its mortgage servicing portfolio increased to $5.9 billion last year from $5.5 billion at the end of 2009.
Home-loan production increased 14 percent in 2010 over the record set in 2009 at Foundation Financial Group — though the company failed to release specific volume numbers. Up to 100 employees are expected to be added this year in Rochester, N.Y., as the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company gears up for another increase.
At just U.S. credit unions, $56 billion in first mortgages were originated during the first nine months of last year, CreditUnions.com reported.
The FBC Mortgage Central Florida Mortgage Report for November 2010 indicated that refinance activity in the region jumped to 30 percent of overall activity from less than 10 percent in the prior two quarters.
In reverse mortgage lending, 1st Maryland Mortgage Corp., which does business as Great Oak Lending Partners, announced that it ranked as the No. 1 reverse mortgage lender in Maryland during the third-quarter 2010. The Timonium, Md.-based firm said lifetime originations total $1.5 billion.
On the commercial mortgage side, MetLife Inc. reported that 2010 originations were $8 billion. The company’s senior managing director and head of real estate investments, Robert Merck, predicted that 2011 will be a strong year.
New York-based MetLife said it owns $38 billion in commercial real estate loans.
It was a record year for Prudential Huntoon Paige.
The Newark, N.J.-based firm reported $1.9 billion in originations for 2010,” a record for the company since its founding in 1993.”
Prudential said hospital transactions accounted for $1.2 billion of 2010 activity. Multifamily production was 68 loans for $0.7 billion, while healthcare fundings worked out to 12 deals for $0.1 billion.
The loan servicing portfolio at Prudential was $66.4 billion as of the end of September.
A report this month from the Business Courier indicated that Triad Capital Advisors of Cincinnati has originated $2.5 billion in commercial mortgages since founding in 1998. The company reports a servicing portfolio of $17.9 billion and claims to be “the nation’s 5th largest intermediary in the placement of commercial real estate capital.”
At Cambridge Realty Capital Companies, the company reported that it processed 267 loan origination requests for $3.72 billion last year. Volume was down from 2009’s 298 loan requests for $4.0 billion.
