Wells Fargo Made A Record One-Third Of Mortgage Loans Last Quarter

* Wells Fargo made 33.9 pct of US mortgages in 1st quarter

* U.S. Bancorp jumps to third from fifth

* Bank of America's loan volume continues to shrink

By Rick Rothacker

May 3 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co made a record 33.9 percent of U.S. mortgage loans in the first quarter, as rivals such as Bank of America Corp continued to pull back in the home lending market.

Wells Fargo's loan volume more than tripled the 10.6 percent market share of its nearest rival, JPMorgan Chase & Co, as it increased its dominance in the industry, according to a report released on Thursday by industry publication Inside Mortgage Finance. U.S. Bancorp jumped to third from fifth.

The rankings show diverging strategies for some of the largest U.S. banks at a time of shrinking loan volume and increased regulatory scrutiny of the industry. Wells Fargo and US Bancorp made more loans in the first quarter, while J.P. Morgan, Bank of America and Citigroup all saw their volume shrink compared with the fourth quarter.

Total mortgage originations of $385 billion in the first quarter were down from $400 billion in the fourth quarter, but up from $335 billion a year ago. Mortgage banking income helped boost results at Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp when they reported earnings last month.

At an investor conference on Tuesday, Wells chief financial officer Tim Sloan said the bank's market share could continue to grow in the current environment.

"We like the business a lot," Sloan said.

Last month, U.S Bancorp CEO Richard Davis said the Minneapolis-based regional bank had added mortgage offices, loan officers and new technology to become a bigger player in the business.

"We see a market share (opportunity) that you only get once in a lifetime," Davis said.

Meanwhile, Bank of America, which has faced huge losses and lawsuits from its 2008 Countrywide Financial acquisition, stopped buying mortgages last year from smaller lenders - a business known as correspondent lending - as it focused on making loans through its own branches. Remaining fourth in the rankings, its total volume fell by more than one-fourth to $16 billion from the fourth quarter. Bank of America's Countrywide purchase initially made it the largest U.S. mortgage lender.

Last month, CEO Brian Moynihan said Bank of America had purposely lost market share by shedding its correspondent lending business, but acknowledged the bank "underperformed" in making loans directly to consumers. The bank is adding loan officers to improve results, he said.

Citigroup Inc fell to fifth from fourth in the rankings. In February, the bank said it would stop originating home loans through mortgage brokers.

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup are among five servicers that reached a $25 billion settlement that was finalized in April with state and federal officials over foreclosure abuses. Ally Financial Inc, the fifth servicer, was the 10th largest originator of home loans in the first quarter, down from sixth in the fourth quarter after it also retreated in the correspondent lending business.

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Comments

[Kip Mac]

10:00 AM on 05/11/2012

HA my buddy works for Wells. All they are doing is flipping these moans to Freddie and Fannie. You think that they are holding the risk? Absolutely not! YOU the tax payer is taking on this risk with more bailouts for Freddie and Fannie.

[Cratewasher]

11:37 AM on 05/05/2012

Just pulled my money out and put it in my local credit union.

[teachone]

03:19 PM on 05/04/2012

Those who took out these loans are foolish, they will find out in time, the errorof their ways, that they made by doing so, but you cannot reason with those who are consumed with greed! Interesting blog below, that USAA is in partnership with this crooked organization, as I thought, the government and Wells Fargo had semed a little too friendly in the past, looks like we all need to stop trusting the government as well, as "Birds of a feather flock together!" It is no wonder these banks are not being held accountable for their illegal actions by the regulators.These people are all in the top 1%, only scratching each others greedy backs! In time all of these individuals will be brought down by the hand of teh lord and they will lose everything they have immorally and unethically gained! He sees all and his justice is swift and firm!!

[arc23con]

09:42 AM on 05/04/2012

That's because they ae the only ones doing loans. Try and get one from soneone else and they screw you with fees and confuse you with paperwork. Wells isn't much better. If the economy is ever going to recover, something needs to be done about home sales. Doesn't anyone is our government have any ideas on this? I never hear any.

[jalaroc]

08:57 AM on 05/04/2012

I won't do business with Wells Fargo after all the unethical and illegal practices they've been caught doing. It also irritated me greatly that USAA formed a partnership with Wells Fargo and had the audacity to claim it was because of Wells Fargo's record for "helping clients." Really made me look twice at USAA.