New York Community Bancorp Inc., Westbury, N.Y., earned $58 million from its mortgage banking division in the second quarter, a handsome 66% gain from the prior quarter, and an almost fourfold increase from the same period a year ago.
Discussing its performance, the company cited increased residential production, expanding pricing margins, and higher servicing income.
Earnings from mortgage originations totaled $53 million in 2Q compared to $40 million in the first quarter.
NYCB's multifamily portfolio grew during the second quarter by $417 million to $18.2 billion. Multifamily represents nearly 69% of the company's total loans held for investment. Much of the growth in apartment lending is due to refinancings, said company president and CEO Joseph Ficalora.
"As refinancing activity surged, so too did our prepayment penalty income, supporting margin expansion as well as earnings growth,” he said. “In 2Q12, prepayment penalty income added $32 million to our net interest income; as a result, our margin rose on a linked-quarter basis to 3.3%," Ficalora said.
NYCB reported total 2Q net income of $131 million, compared to $118 million in 1Q12 and $119 million in 2Q11.
