WaMu Reports '03 Earnings

Washington Mutual has reported earnings of $3.88 billion ($4.21 per share) for 2003, up from $3.86 billion ($4.02 per share) the year before.Home loan volume set a record of $384.18 billion for the year, up from $279.45 billion in 2002. However, fourth-quarter volume dropped $42.28 billion, falling from $99.81 billion in the fourth quarter of 2002 to $57.53 billion, the company said. Earnings fell in the fourth quarter, totaling $842 million ($0.93 per share), compared with $941 million ($1.00 per share) a year earlier. "Even though the market remains predominantly a fixed-rate market, the company is beginning to see a shift toward adjustable-rate mortgages," WaMu said. ARMs represented 55% of WaMu's home loan application volume in the fourth quarter, compared with 38% in the third quarter, the company said.