WaMu Reports $5.8B in '02 MF Activity

Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, has reported $5.8 billion in multifamily portfolio acquisition and loan originations for 2002.The total includes more than $235 million in originations in the New York/New Jersey region, where WaMu set up offices last year, the company said. "While a favorable interest rate environment played a role in our remarkable performance last year, an expanded product menu, including hybrid and adjustable- and fixed-rate financing options, as well as our ability to focus solely on multifamily properties, enabled us to significantly increase our origination volume," said Al Brooks, division executive for WaMu's multifamily lending division. He added that WaMu expects to further strengthen its stronghold in multifamily lending in 2003 by offering commercial mortgage-backed securities and expanding its Fannie Mae DUS and Freddie Mac Program Plus lending. WaMu was ranked the fifth-largest commercial lender by origination volume for 2001 by the Mortgage Industry Directory, a MorgageWire affiliate.