Record Mortgage Volume Buoys Wells Profits

Buoyed by record mortgage originations, Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, has reported net income of $1.56 billion ($0.92 per share) in the third quarter, up 8% from $1.44 billion ($0.84 per share) a year earlier.The EPS figure was also a record, the company said. Wells Fargo said its mortgage origination volume totaled an industry record $161 billion in the third quarter, up from an industry record $135 billion in the second quarter. "Year to date we have originated an industry record of $399 billion, already surpassing the $333 billion we originated for all of last year," said Mark Oman, Wells Fargo's group executive vice president for home and consumer finance. The owned mortgage servicing portfolio rose to $674 billion in the third quarter, up 18% from the level recorded a year earlier, the company said. Mortgage servicing rights were carried on the balance sheet at $5.8 billion on Sept. 30, up from $3.8 billion as of June 30, Wells Fargo said. Wells Fargo can be found on the Web at http://www.wellsfargo.com.