Mortgage originations were off more than a third during the first three months of 2013 at Ally Financial Inc., which is effectively exiting the home loan business.
Mortgage loan production was reported at $6.1 billion for the first quarter. Business included $5.6 billion in prime conforming loans and $0.5 billion in prime nonconforming loans.
Activity sank from $9.8 billion in overall originations during the prior three-month period. Ally’s business also fell short of the $8.5 billion in total mortgage production during the first quarter of last year.
“The decrease in loan production year-over-year was largely driven by the company’s strategic decision to exit business lending, as well as the wind-down of consumer lending,” the Detroit-based company said.
Refinance share was 86 percent of first-quarter activity.
Ally carried $917 million in mortgage servicing rights on its balance sheet as of March 31.
As of April 17, the mortgage servicing portfolio was $5.0 billion, according to a prior report.
The mortgage investment portfolio was $11.284 billion, down from $14.744 billion as of the end of last year and $14.580 billion the same date last year.
The 30-day delinquency rate was unchanged from Dec. 31, 2012, at 3.0 percent but was lower than 3.3 percent as of March 31, 2012.
The mortgage business lost $204 million before taxes in the first quarter, swinging from a $63 million profit during the same quarter in 2012.
“Ally Bank completed transactions to sell its business lending mortgage operations and agency mortgage servicing rights and has effectively exited the mortgage origination and servicing businesses,” the report stated.
Core pre-tax earnings for all of Ally Financial swung to a $6 million loss from a $103 profit in the fourth quarter of last year and $111 million in the first quarter of last year.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury owns 74 percent of Ally’s common stock.
