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2013 Originations Down 14%; Wells Fargo Stays on Top

While mortgage origination volumes looked different last year compared to 2012, the list of top lenders looked very much the same.

According to stats [1] released Monday by Mortgage Daily [2], residential loan originations were down 14 percent throughout 2013, falling 37 percent on a quarterly basis in Q4 alone.

Part of the blame for the decline can go to rising interest rates, which were up more than a percentage point to the high 4 percent range over the year.

In full-year originations, Wells Fargo [3] held on to its top spot, generating approximately $351 billion in loans—about 19 percent of last year’s total volume, according to Mortgage Daily. JPMorgan Chase [4] followed up at No. 2 at $168 billion.

Also in the top five 2013 lenders were Bank of America [5] ($90 billion), U.S. Bank Home Mortgage [6] ($85 billion), and Quicken Loans [7] ($79 billion).

Together, the top five lenders accounted for about 43 percent of last year’s activity.

Looking at just the fourth quarter, the rankings were the same: Wells Fargo ($50 billion); Chase ($24 billion); BofA ($14 billion); U.S. Bank ($13 billion); and Quicken ($13 billion).

All five lenders saw loan volumes decline quarter-to-quarter; in fact, out of all companies tracked by Mortgage Daily, only Stonegate Mortgage reported an increase from the third quarter. Total mortgage production for the first quarter is expected to be down 14 percent.

Wells Fargo, Chase, and BofA also took the top three spots on the servicing side. As of December 31, Wells serviced $1.8 trillion, boasting a market share of 19 percent. Chase was second with $984 billion, with BofA following at $810 billion.

Unsurprisingly, non-banks Ocwen [8] and Nationstar [9] took the fourth and fifth spots, servicing $465 billion and $393 billion in loans, respectively. The two servicers have been aggressive in their portfolio growth efforts, quickly climbing the ranks of top servicers and attracting attention from regulators [10] who wonder if the companies are up to the task.