The survey included a question about which wholesale or correspondent lenders were among the top three used. Only mortgage brokers and correspondent clients were asked to respond.

Each response included a choice for the wholesale lender that the originator used most, used second-most and used third-most.

Four wholesale lenders emerged more frequently than any others in the survey among the top three choices.

The most-frequent No. 1 choice was JPMorgan Chase & Co., though Chase was listed less frequently among the second and third choices for wholesalers. Overall, Chase was the second-biggest most-used wholesaler.

Based on the number of times it was listed as either the No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 wholesaler — Wells Fargo & Co. was listed more times than any other wholesale lender. The responses correlate with MortgageDaily.com production data for 2010 and 2011 that indicate Wells Fargo was the biggest residential lender in the country.

The third most-used wholesaler overall was GMAC. While GMAC was listed less frequently among No. 1 choices, its standing was more prominent among backup choices, and it was ranked as the No. 3 choice by more respondents than any other wholesaler.

Bank of America Home Loans came in the fourth spot overall. However, the company announced plans to exit the correspondent business after the survey was conducted. BofA previously exited wholesale lending.

The next tier of lenders listed among the responses had less than half the share as any of the top-tier wholesale lenders. The second-tier wholesalers were Citigroup Inc. and Flagstar.