Even though mortgage originations weakened on a quarter-over-quarter basis at Nationstar Mortgage LLC, the current quarter is strong.
Home lending volume at the mortgage banking firm was $4.0 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2015. Business slowed from $4.9 billion in the previous three-month period.
The lender’s Dallas-based parent, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc., discussed the results
in its fourth-quarter 2015 earnings report.
Volume
was stronger than in the fourth-quarter 2014, when $3.6 billion in production was generated.
Full-year 2015 mortgage originations came to $18.0 billion,
slightly more than the $16.9 billion in residential loans funded during 2014.
“Our originations segment had a strong fourth quarter, posting its best annual performance since 2012 and continues to provide a cost effective source of new servicing assets,” Nationstar Chief Executive Officer Jay Bray stated in the report.
Consumer-direct originations made up $11.3 billion of last year’s total, while $6.7 billion was correspondent acquisitions.
Refinance share was 74 percent for all of last year.
The report indicated that there was a “strong start to 2016 due to rate environment and unwinding of TRID delays.”
The servicing portfolio closed out last year at $398 billion. The total was down from Sept. 30, 2015, when $408 billion was serviced, but up from a year earlier, when $381 billion was serviced.
Mortgage investments were trimmed to $0.174 billion from $0.179 billion as of the end of the third-quarter 2015 and $0.192 billion at the end of the fourth-quarter 2014.
Nationstar reported $7.514 billion in reverse mortgage interests, more than $7.434 billion three months earlier and
just $2.384 billion a year earlier.
Portfolio delinquency of at least 60 days fell to 6.9 percent from 7.2 percent at the end of the third quarter
and sank from 9.9 percent at the end of 2014.
Before income taxes, Nationstar swung to a $121 million profit from a
$112 million third-quarter loss. In the final quarter of 2014, earnings were $32 million.
