Refis Boosted U.S. Lending 38% in Year

U.S. mortgage lending increased by 38% in 2012, driven by refinancings, according to bank regulators’ data released by the federal government today.

“The total number of originated loans of all types and purposes reported increased by about 2.7 million, or 38%, from 2011, in part because of a 54% increase in the number of refinancings,” the agencies said in the release of mortgage lending data at 7,400 financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

Home-purchase lending increased by 13% during the same period, the regulators said.

The Federal Housing Administration’s share of first-lien lending fell to 27%, from 31% in 2011.

The group of regulators releasing the data includes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve, the National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.