Several firms are on their way to becoming billion-dollar players — some at a rapid pace — while others are already there. A few of the players are achieving the big numbers through commercial mortgage originations.
More than $160 billion has been originated by community banks through Business Solutions since it launched in 2001. The subsidiary of the American Bankers Association reportedly saved participating banks more than $26 million last year.
George Mason Mortgage said last month that it has originated more than $31 billion in mortgages during the past decade. The Fairfax, Va.-based company is a subsidiary of Cardinal Financial Corp.
In the final three months of 2011, Impac Mortgage Holdings disclosed that it closed $0.344 billion in new mortgages. Business was better than $0.257 billion originated during the third-quarter 2011. During all of last year, production at the Irvine, Calif.-based company was $0.883 billion. Volume was just $0.041 billion during 2010.
ClearVision Funding reported first-quarter originations of $0.235 billion, a huge increase from a year earlier when it funded $0.085 billion. Since its June 2010 founding, the Santa Ana, Calif.-based wholesale lender says it has originated $1 billion in conventional and FHA loans.
First-quarter production at Gateway Mortgage Group was $0.211 billion, double the volume of loans originated during the first-three months of last year. The 12-year-old company, which calls Tulsa, Okla., its home state, said its 10,000th loan was closed in March.
Last year’s production at First Bank Mortgage was more than $0.400 billion. The August, Ga., firm generated business through 60 correspondent lenders.
The 266 closings during March at Roswell, N.M.-based PrimeSource Mortgage Inc. was an all-time monthly record. The dollar volume amounted to a little less than $0.050 billion. Refinance share worked out to 53 percent in March.
The Department of Agriculture recognized USA Mortgage as its No. 1 lender in Missouri. In USDA’s fiscal-year ended Sept. 30, 2011, the St. Louis-based company reportedly place $0.023 billion in loans with the agency.
Since opening in November 2010, National Family Mortgage reports that it originated $30 million in peer-to-peer mortgages. Nearly half of the Boston-based company’s business was used to fund home improvement projects or refinance an institutional mortgage. The average rate was 3.49 percent.
Loan volume at Superior Federal Credit Union was $165 million last year, a news release said. That worked out to around 1,500 loans. During the first two months of 2012, volume totaled $35 million.
Mortgage originations accounted for 34.2 percent of all loan originations during the first quarter at credit unions, the Credit Union Times reported. Overall volume was more than a quarter higher than a year earlier and the best first quarter on record.
In the commercial real estate sector, HFFÂ Inc. reported fourth-quarter 2011 total volume of 326 transactions for $10.322 billion. A year earlier, 261 transactions were done for $$6.218 billion. The latest activity included $4.565 billion in debt placement, $4.501 billion in investment sales, $1.048 billion in structured finance and $0.208 billion in loan sales.
Full-year 2011 volume at Pittsburgh-based HFF was 1,101 transactions for $35.609 billion, leaping from 689 transactions for $19.484 billion a year earlier.
Debt investing accounted for $5.7 billion of the more than $8 billion in transactions completed during 2011 by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors, a news release said. The Hartford, Conn.-based company predicts continued strong origination of core commercial mortgage loans on office, hotel, industrial and multifamily properties. Cornerstone said it “is looking to increase its allocation to transitional lending situations where a property’s cash flow may not be fully stabilized.”
Agricultural mortgages originated last year by MetLife Inc. totaled $2.8 billion, the New York-based company announced. MetLife, which runs the business through an agricultural investments department, said it is one of the largest agricultural lenders in the industry, with more $13 billion in agricultural mortgages outstanding.
In North Wales, Pa., Oppenheimer Multifamily Housing & Healthcare Finance Inc. reported $1.2 billion in mortgage closings and loan securitizations for last year. Its Dec. 31, 2011, servicing portfolio was $2.6 billion.
