| Record $16.5 Billion 4th Quarter Production at Principal
American Home Mortgage to buy retail branches February 10, 2003 By MortgageDaily.com staff |
| Principal Financial, Inc. reported record mortgage loan production during the fourth quarter, less than a week after the company announced it would phase out its traditional residential mortgage operation and lay off 500 employees.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based company’s production reached $16.5 billion during the fourth quarter, almost 50% more than third quarter originations and almost 40% than fourth quarter 2001. “In addition to driving growth, we worked very hard to build value in our first full year as a publicly traded company,” CEO J. Barry Griswell said. Principal grew its servicing portfolio to $107.7 billion during the fourth quarter, up from third quarter’s $102 billion. The servicing portfolio was at $80.5 billion during the same time last year. Principal announced Jan. 31 that it will phase out its Principal Residential Mortgage by the end of this month, laying off about 500 employees in 78 locations. Last week, New York-based American Home Mortgage Holdings, Inc. announced it signed a definitive agreement to acquire the retail mortgage branches of Principal. Instead of doing business through branch offices, the residential mortgage arm will solely make loans through its Mortgage Direct operation, which allows borrowers to apply for loans on the phone or online. That method of lending experienced 300% growth during the first three quarters of 2002 alone. Shares of Principal Financial were down $0.18 at $26.67 by midday trading, according to CBSMarketwatch.com. |
