Wells' Profits Rise, but Mortgage Revs Fall

Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, has reported record net income of $2.19 billion ($0.64 per share) for the third quarter, up from $1.98 billion ($0.58 per share) a year earlier, although revenues fell at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.(Earnings per share reflect a two-for-one stock split in August.) Home Mortgage revenue totaled $923 million, down from $1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2005, largely due to a recovery a year earlier of $356 million in the valuation of mortgage servicing rights, Wells Fargo reported. Mortgage originations totaled $104 billion, down from $116 billion in the second quarter but up from $103 billion a year earlier. "Our owned real estate servicing portfolio grew to $1.33 trillion, up $215 billion for the quarter," said Mark Oman, senior executive vice president in the Wells Home and Consumer Finance Group. "This growth included $172 billion of servicing acquired during the quarter." The company can be found online at http://www.wellsfargo.com.