Lending Declines in Q1, Remains Up Year-Over-Year

Mortgage origination numbers from the first quarter of the year are in and closing totals indicate a generally diminished lending pace. While diverse factors contributed to the decline in originations, the departure of two major correspondent lenders during the period are considered a key catalyst in driving down closings.

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According to statements from ""Mortgage Lender Ranking"":http://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageLenderRanking.asp by _Mortgage_ _Daily_, residential production sunk by 5.56 percent

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between quarters. However, year-over-year origination tallies are in opposition to the quarter-to-quarter results, showing a 10.88 percent improvement.

Data included in the Mortgage Market Index created by ""Mortech Inc."":www.mortech-inc.com/ showed that additional decreases in mortgage loan production are likely in the second-quarter of the year. Specifically, the company's index is forecasting an 8 percent drop versus origination levels recorded in the first-quarter.

Mortech's statistics demonstrated an uptick in market share for ""Federal Housing Administration"":http://www.fha.gov/ loans, which stretched to 15 percent besting a reported 13 percent market share displayed in the final quarter of 2011. Survey findings from Mortech also revealed a dominant first-quarter for ""Wells Fargo"":https://www.wellsfargo.com/; the bank was the top performing financial institution during the quarter, with a 36 percent market share for originations.

Wells Fargo also claimed the top spot among mortgage servicers, and the company's mortgage portfolio expanded during the first-quarter. ""JP Morgan Chase"":http://www.chase.com/, ""U.S. Bancorp"":http://www.usbank.com/en/AboutHome.cfm, ""Bank of America"":http://www.bankofamerica.com/, and ""Citigroup"":http://www.citigroup.com/ rounded out the top five lenders by market share to conclude the quarter, and BofA, Chase, Citi, and ""Ally Financial"":http://www.ally.com/financial/ completed the roster of top five servicers.