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Bank of America extends drop in mortgage rankings

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By Rick Rothacker

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC - News) was the fourth-biggest U.S. mortgage lender in the fourth quarter of 2011, continuing its descent in the rankings after it stopped buying loans made by smaller banks.

The second-largest U.S. bank in 2008 became the biggest mortgage originator after buying Countrywide Financial, but it has been gradually paring back the business as it copes with losses from the disastrous acquisition.

Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C - News) moved ahead of Bank of America in the fourth quarter, with about $23 billion in mortgage loans, slightly ahead of Bank of America's $22.4 billion in loans, according to data released Thursday by industry publication Inside Mortgage Finance.

Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC - News) remained the largest mortgage originator by far, making $120 billion in loans. That meant it made 30 percent of all loans in the quarter, up from about 27 percent in the third quarter.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM - News) was the second-biggest lender in the quarter, with about $42 billion in loans.

In October, Bank of America said it was exiting correspondent lending by year's end, stripping out about half of its production as it focused on making loans directly to its own customers. The bank now has about 6 percent market share, less than the 7.8 percent it held in 2007 before buying Countrywide.

That acquisition, which brought to the banks loads of bad loans and related lawsuits, has not worked out on two fronts for Bank of America, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance.

"Not only are they looking to abandon the servicing side of the business, they're looking to abandon the origination platform," he said.

While the bank is missing out on newer loans made under stricter underwriting standards, decreasing its profile in the mortgage business is likely good for its stock price, he said. "It will be welcomed by shareholders and analysts," Cecala said.

After falling 58 percent in 2011, Bank of America's shares are up more than 30 percent this year.

In a CNBC interview Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said exiting the correspondent business was a good move because the company was no longer providing its balance sheet to other banks' customers.

"We've shaped our mortgage business much smaller," he said. "We've really got it back (to) our core retail customer... We'll continue to do that."

(Reporting By Rick Rothacker; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Gary Hill)

 

19 comments

  • R.T.  •  27 days ago
    And how many former executives from Countrywide are in jail? NONE. I personally know
    one crook who owned 11 houses and NEVER had to verify any income to Countrywide.
    Now he just declared bankruptcy and walked away, no jail time for him or the robo
    signing document department .FRAUD, FRAUD AND MORE FRAUD and these
    overpaid government clowns we all elected to enforce the law do next to nothing.
  • soylent bob  •  27 days ago
    i think mozilla is the one who should be sharing a cell with madoff.
  • Tom  •  Ocala, Florida  •  27 days ago
    Bank of America, Chase , Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup are all CORRUPT financial institutions !!! BOYCOTTT corrupt financial institutions !!! Be American !!!!!!!!!
  • Jeff B  •  Kokomo, Indiana  •  27 days ago
    BANK OF AMERICA HAS TO BE THE WORST RUN BANK IN THE WORLD! ! NO BUSINESS SENSE AT ALL! ! TRY TALKING TO THEM ABOUT THE HAFA PROGRAM SOMETIME! ! WHAT A JOKE! !
  • common sense moderate.  •  27 days ago
    the person who bought countrywide should be shot. That company was a horror story.
  • Don  •  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  •  27 days ago
    Trouble with Bank of America mostly started with CRA act (thanks to our govt) that forces banks to make mortgages to those who couldn't otherwise buy homes. According to IBD, B of A had to commit to 1.5 TRILLION over 10 yrs in loans to low income and disadvantaged to not be prevented from growing and merging. This little agreement with regulators and community groups came just as the housing market was about to tank. This is exactly why the govt needs to be shrunk. FHA only recently began to say that people with credit scores below 590 could no longer get a mortgage with 3.5% down payment. #$%$?? They can still get a loan with a 510 credit score, just need to come up with a little more down? Are you kidding me? Do you realize how bad a credit score that is? Why are the taxpayers paying for the govt to insure this crap? They (Fanni, Freddi FHA) need to be wound down, as promised. Oh wait... congress just paid for the extension of the SS tax cut with a special fee added to mortgages insured by FHA? Guess they aren't planning on winding down the FHA anytime soon. So, expect more business as usual in Washington DC.
  • Kevin  •  27 days ago
    l lost confidence in BAC after my mortgage loan application went sour and I had to cut my lost ($500 fee) rather than dealing with their ridiculous underwriter. I have 800 + FICO plus was putting more than 50% down but they made the process so hard and difficult I just had to walk away....... I'll never do business with BAC.
  • Barbara  •  Claymont, Delaware  •  27 days ago
    why is angelo Mozilo not in jail
  • robert b  •  West Palm Beach, Florida  •  27 days ago
    countrywide was a shotgun wedding just like merril lynch. these people just do whatever they want at our expense
  • Geoff  •  Beaverton, Oregon  •  27 days ago
    2nd
  • Don  •  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  •  27 days ago
    if you want the REAL story on the causes of the housing bust, google "IBD Bank of America, CRA Acorn clones". You'll get the real dirt.
  • Peter  •  Mt Angel, Oregon  •  27 days ago
    Everything would be just fine again if we stopped killing babies. FIGHT ABORTION!!!
  • Robert  •  Jefferson City, Missouri  •  27 days ago
    Banks used to be in the business of making loans to be profitable.

    Now BofA comes in and says "...We've shaped our mortgage business much smaller..."

    So how is BofA going to earn its way out of the mess they are in, WITHOUT A BAILOUT?

    Sell all of their assets? Raise fees? Go Bankrupt?

    Seems like if you are not striving to be #1, you are going to be nothing in this day and age.

    Dump BofA. If you are thinking about defaulting on your BofA loan, just do it. They got greedy, buying into the Countrywide mess like they did.

    BofA deserves to not exist. Read enough stories and used to bank with them... bad news.

    Perhaps the goverment will continue to keep them alive... laundering money for the FED... can't imagine any other use for this bank.

    I have lost respect for this bank, and will never put a penny on deposit with then EVER again.
  • Bobby  •  New York, New York  •  27 days ago
    This is further indication that BofA was never very good at mortgage origination.
  • unknown  •  Toledo, Ohio  •  27 days ago
    a drop,

    heck why don't you give out more stock for bonuses,heck i know give bigger bonuses for the one who bring in the least amount of home mortgages.or maybe yet give out retainer bonuses.thats for the ones who nobody else will hire.
  • SWW  •  27 days ago
    Thanks for whoever made the decision who bailed out of big banks, so we can keep so many jobs. Imagine we let all the banks that are 'insolvent' by accounting means, United States will be still in the 2009 March 'mode' for at least 10 years. Banking are the life blood of a country without banks where will business borrow money and where people can keep their money? People who hate bank mostly are poor people.
  • John M  •  27 days ago
    The main problem with Bank of America is they have lied to and cheated too many people by pure Fraud. Why would anyone that knows about how they have lied and cheated people on their homes ever want to use them. B of A will be closed down by the Feds this year for massive fraud lawsuits.
  • John M  •  27 days ago
    Bank of America, the bank of Fraud, lied, cheated and stole my entire retirement money by pure fraud. Stay away from this evil bank because the Feds will close it down for massive fraud lawsuits.
  • Mark  •  Ocala, Florida  •  27 days ago
    Wow, It must be great to cherry pick. If you qualify you must be loaded.
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