Option ARM Volume Falls 37%

Mortgage bankers funded $61.6 billion of payment-option adjustable-rate mortgages in the third quarter, a 37% decline from the level recorded a year earlier, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report.Every single lender answering the survey reported a double-digit percentage decline in fundings, ranging from 33% to 99%. Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., ranked first among option ARM funders, originating $23.4 billion, a 56% decline from the volume in the third quarter of 2006. Wachovia Bank, Charlotte, N.C., ranked second with $8.8 billion, and Washington Mutual, Seattle, third with $7.5 billion. (WaMu's figure is an estimate.) Results may be incomplete because some firms would not provide an option ARM number.