Wells Fargo & Co. once again ranked first among all residential funders in the most recent quarter with its market share jumping almost a full point to 24% -- one of the highest readings on record, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News.
Compared to the same period three years ago, the bank's production market share has doubled.
In Q4 it originated just shy of $130 billion of home mortgages, a 36% jump from the same period a year earlier. But more importantly, it has opened up a huge lead over the nation's number two ranked lender, Bank of America, out funding that company by a stunning $44 billion in the fourth quarter.
B of A, which has been saddled with billions of dollars in troubled mortgages from its 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp., originated $86 billion in Q4, giving it a market share of 16%, just about flat with the previous quarter.
The bank has been shifting resources away from originations into loan modifications, seeing its origination volume decline in the process.
Unlike B of A, Wells continues to use loan brokers to source loans to the firm, but also dominates in the retail and correspondent sector. (The figures were compiled by NMN and its sister publication the Quarterly Data Report.)
Smaller players in mortgages fear that all the regulatory changes promulgated under Dodd-Frank benefitted mostly the largest banks in the nation, creating a system where 'too big to fail' institutions will dominate in mortgages and other sectors for years to come. (For a complete analysis see the Monday print edition of NMN.)
