Viewpoint Bank, Plano, Texas, ended the third quarter with $910 million of warehouse lending commitments on its books, a handsome 26% gain compared to the same period a year ago.
According to survey figures provided to National Mortgage News, its average outstandings totaled $465 million at September 30.
Jerry Davis, senior vice president in charge of warehouse lending for the bank, said business has been picking up of late, thanks in part to Bank of America reducing its involvement in the sector.
“We're getting a large number of phone calls from some of their customers who are looking to diversify their lines,” Davis told NMN.
Bank of America is in the process of exiting the business of buying closed mortgages through the correspondent channel, where it ranked second nationwide with a market share of 18%.
Its warehouse division worked in tandem with the channel, making lines of credit to nonbanks, which then turned around and sold their production directly to B of A through “captive” arrangements. But now that B of A is leaving the correspondent channel, its warehouse business is in doubt.
The bank has yet to clarify its future plans for warehouse lending, and according to a handful of competitors that talk to the bank, the unit may be transferred to its Merrill Lynch affiliate.
