OTS: ARM Share of Thrift Originations Plunges

Adjustable-rate mortgages made up only 13% of thrift originations in the first quarter, down 44% from the level recorded a year earlier, according to the Office of Thrift Supervision.It marked the second consecutive quarter in which the percentage of total originations represented by ARMs was in the lower teens. But this time it prompted thrifts to sell $177.7 billion in mortgages into the secondary market -- the highest level of sales since the third quarter of 2003. Thrifts generally specialize in ARMs, and these depository institutions like to sell fixed-rate mortgages and hold ARMs in portfolio. Overall, the ARM share for all lenders was 11% in the first quarter, compared with 25% in the same quarter of 2006, according to the Federal Housing Finance Board. Freddie Mac's forecast calls for the ARM share of the mortgage market to be 12% in 2007, down from 21% in 2006.