After three consecutive quarters of originations gains, PennyMac Financial Services Inc. ended its streak. But a move into wholesale lending could help upcoming production.
From Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 of last year, PennyMac funded $11.058 billion in new home loans.
This data, plus other financial and operational information, was gathered through the Moorpark, California-based residential loan provider’s fourth-quarter 2015 earnings report.
The latest production total tumbled from the $15.464 billion originated in the prior three-month period — marking the first quarter-over-quarter decline since the fourth-quarter 2014.
Still, PennyMac’s most-recent lending volume was higher than the $7.958 billion loaned out in the year-prior period.
Throughout all of 2015, the eight-year-old company provided $48.448 billion in residential loans, a nice improvement over the $29.073 in full-year 2014 production.
The fourth-quarter 2015 total included $10.030 billion in correspondent acquisitions and $1.028 billion in consumer-direct originations.
Refinance share on correspondent volume dipped to 14 percent from 23 percent in the third quarter.
Contributing toward fourth-quarter business was $3.472 billion in fee-based closings, conducted on behalf of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust.
Altogether, PennyMac’s correspondent client list increased by 32 to 432 accounted for in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2015.
Interest rate lock commitments fell to $12.5 billion from $15.4 billion in the third quarter — an indication that first-quarter 2016 originations might decrease.
With the release of its quarterly earnings data, PennyMac also announced its entry into the wholesale lending market.
“We are currently developing the necessary systems and infrastructure and have targeted a full launch for mid-2016,” PennyMac Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stanford Kurland said in a transcript of the fourth-quarter earnings call. “The wholesale channel is a fragmented market, with the top five lenders accounting for 30 percent of wholesale volume. Our goal is to work toward a leadership role in the channel over time.”
As of Dec. 31 last year, PennyMac serviced $110.603 billion in home loans, based on unpaid principle balance.
The servicing portfolio grew from $106.977 billion three months earlier and $64.691 billion a year earlier.
PennyMac also reported an additional $47.811 billion in sub-servicing as of the final day of last year.
Prior to taxes, fourth-quarter 2015 income was $77 million, the most on record for the firm. Earnings increased from $74 million in the prior three-month period and $53 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
As of Dec. 31 last year, 2,523 people worked at PennyMac — the largest employment number at the company so far.
The latest staff numbers included 40 more employees than calculated as of Sept. 30 and 723 more workers than inventoried as of Dec. 31, 2014.
