A California bank reported that residential originations soared nearly 300 percent last year to more than $4 billion.
Mortgage originations surpassed 17,500 loans for $4 billion last year at Fremont Bank, a press release Monday indicated.
Volume nearly quadrupled from 2008, when the Fremont, Calif.-based institution closed just 5,222 loans for $1.08 billion.
The increase in originations was achieved with the launch of new sales channels, the addition of new program offerings and an expansion in loan officer staff.
The report indicated Internet applications climbed to 3,152 during 2009 from only 693 the previous year.
“Our Bank’s founder had the foresight to build a strong residential lending infrastructure that other community banks do not possess,” Gary De Luca, vice president of residential lending at Fremont, said in the report. “This provides our clients a trusted and proven option other than going to a big bank or a mortgage broker.”
Still, activity was a far cry from the $62 billion in subprime loans originated between 2005 and 2007 by predecessor Fremont Investment & Loan.
Parent Fremont General Corp. was hit with a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation cease-and-desist order in February 2007 — at which point it abandoned subprime lending. Fremont General filed bankruptcy in June 2008, and two months later CapitalSource Inc. acquired $5.2 billion in retail deposits and $5.2 billion in assets of Fremont Investment — forming the current organization.
