U.S. Bank and Union Bank Come on Strong in Wholesale

The initial news from the data division of National Mortgage News doesn’t look particularly bright for loan brokers: their market share fell to an all-time low of 6.9% in the first quarter, the lowest reading ever. (We’ve been collecting origination figures from the industry for 15 years.) But perhaps it’s darkest before dawn. We’ll know by 2013 when correspondent mortgage firms will need $2.5 million in minimum capital to play in the FHA arena. Will a large number of smaller correspondents trade in their banking stripes to become brokers? And if so, which table funders will supply them with mortgage money? At least two wholesalers among the top five had strong growth rates in 1Q: U.S. Bank Home Mortgage (up 11%), and Union Bank, San Francisco, which posted an impressive 102% gain compared to 1Q 2010…