Banks earned a record $7.96 billion on their mortgage banking activities during the first quarter of 2012, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of bank call reports. First-quarter earnings from mortgage banking were up a whopping 42.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011, and they more than double the amount banks earned during the first three months of last year. One factor contributing to the big increase in mortgage banking income was the expansion of the universe of financial institutions that complete the bank call report to include thrifts. The now obsolete...(Includes two data charts)