Bank of America's mortgage banking income was down 26% from a year ago due to a decrease in core loan production revenue and higher intercompany charges during the fourth quarter.
Total fourth-quarter mortgage income of $262 million was down from $352 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $407 million in the third quarter of 2015.
Core production revenue was $148 million, down 31% from $214 million a year ago and $221 million, or 33%, in the prior quarter.
B of A originated $13.5 billion in first mortgage during the fourth quarter, down from $13.7 billion in the
During the company's Jan. 19 quarterly earnings conference call, Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio noted that the decline in mortgage revenue can also be attributed to the sale of fewer nonperforming loans and the loss of $30 million in recurring quarterly revenue from the sale of its appraisal management company, LandSafe, which closed in the third quarter of 2015.
An intercompany charge of $121, related primarily to servicing activities was up from $82 million a year ago and $64 million during the third quarter of 2015.
For the year, B of A earned total income of $2.4 billion in mortgage banking, up from $1.6 billion in 2014. First mortgage origination volume for the year was $56.9 billion, up from $43.3 billion in 2014.
Noninterest income from mortgages for the quarter was $133 million, down from $193 million a year ago and $206 million in the third quarter of 2015.
The Legacy Assets and Servicing business contributed $250 million to the fourth quarter results, with $170 million of that coming from servicing.
