Mortgage Volume Solid at Wells Despite Big Loss

Wells Fargo posted solid mortgage origination numbers and said home loan volume continues to trend upward, despite its quarterly loss of $2.6 billion amid a $5.6 billion increase to its credit reserve. Wells took in $116 billion of mortgage applications in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 158% from the year earlier period. And application volume in December marked the fourth highest monthly application volume in the company's history. Moreover, chief financial officer Howard Atkins said daily mortgage application volume during the first two weeks of January was running 20% higher than in December. The company had $71 billion of home loan applications in its pipeline at year-end. Wells estimates that it now accounts for 12% of the mortgage origination market, up from 10% a year earlier. Wells originated $50 billion of home loans during the fourth quarter and $230 billion for the full year. Wells' fourth quarter results did not include results from Wachovia, which Wells officially acquired on Dec. 31. Wachovia lost $11.2 billion in the fourth quarter. Wells' mortgage servicing portfolio swelled to $2.1 trillion at year-end with the addition of Wachovia's $379 billion servicing portfolio.