Wells Funded Record $470B in '03

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, funded a record $470 billion in home mortgages in 2003, the company has reported.But the bank-owned mortgage lender did not crack the half-trillion-dollar mark, as overall loan production fell by 56% from the third to the fourth quarter. (Total residential production was $71 billion, compared with $161 billion in the third quarter.) During the first three quarters, Wells funded almost $400 billion in residential loans. At year end its servicing portfolio totaled $710 billion, an 11% gain from the third-quarter total and a 24% gain from that of a year earlier. WFHM's servicing portfolio has an average coupon rate of 5.90%, compared with 6.67% a year ago. The portfolio has a carrying value of $6.9 billion.