Retail lending reigned supreme in the second quarter as lenders facing an onslaught of consumer demand focused on the most efficient and profitable production strategy. (Includes two data charts.)
Heavy refinance lending pushed the retail share of second-quarter originations to a record 65.7%. Much of the decline in correspondent came from a handful of key players. (Includes six data charts.)
Correspondent production accounted for just 25% of loans sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae during the second quarter, down from 37.0% in the previous period. (Includes two data charts.)
The parent company of Quicken Loans splurged $905 million on marketing last year, helping the nonbank become the second largest mortgage lender. The firm is now ready to launch an IPO.
Banks and thrifts reported significant declines in mortgage originations and loan sales during the first quarter of 2020, but they ended the period with a huge pipeline of pending secondary-market activity. (Includes data chart.)
The nonbank took a large loss in the first quarter and halted production. Officials at the firm are now betting on originating GSE-eligible mortgages through call centers to return to profitability in the third quarter.
With one big exception — Freedom Mortgage — correspondent platforms saw declining production of FHA/VA loans in the first quarter. Retail was fairly steady, while wholesale-broker gained momentum. (Includes data chart.)
While overall production volume was down in all three major product groups, the wholesale-broker channel saw increased originations of conventional-conforming and government-insured loans. (Includes two data charts.)
Agency MBS issuance declined modestly from the fourth quarter of 2019 to first quarter of this year. But volume soared abruptly in April, along with signs of COVID-19 stress. (Includes two data charts.)