Originations of mortgages by big banks in the first quarter of 2015 were up strongly compared with a year ago as well as the fourth quarter of 2014. Competition has increased, but mortgage banking income and gain-on-sale margins were relatively strong, according to industry analysts. Five large banks that have reported earnings generated a combined $108.5 billion in mortgage originations during the first three months of 2015. That was up 9.4 percent from ...