Top Direct Lenders Account for Smaller Piece of Mortgage Origination Pie

Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase Home Finance were the dominant forces in the home loan business in early 2009, but a still solid correspondent market left plenty of room for other lenders to find their niche. The big three in mortgage originations accounted for over half (52.0 percent) of total residential loan production during the first quarter of this year, but their combined share of direct originations–counting just retail and wholesale broker business they funded directly–was a significantly lower 29.8 percent. According to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking slated to be published this week, Wells was the top direct mortgage originator with a 15 percent market share, followed by BofA with 9 percent and Chase with 4 percent.