MortgageDaily.com Lender Ranking

MortgageDaily.com’s analysis of residential U.S. production included companies that report annual mortgage production levels.

Countrywide, which reported funding about one in eight mortgages last year, closed $363 billion during 2004, making it king amongst lenders covered by MortgageDaily.com. The lender topped the ranking even though production slipped 17% from 2003.

The Calabasas, Calif. mortgage banker recently said it was named the largest servicer in the country — its portfolio of $838 billion at year’s end grew almost $200 billion above December 2003.

The honors didn’t stop there for Countrywide. Not only did its chief executive Angelo Mozilo earn the title of the industry’s Best CEO in America, the lender was recognized by FORTUNE magazine as one of the nation’s most admired companies and was included among a ranking of the best three-year investment return providers.

Wells Fargo lost its 2003 production crown as it reported originations plunged nearly 37% from its industry record in 2003 to a silver-medal $298 billion last year. The annual fallout was the fourth largest in the industry. However, the San Francisco-based banking behemoth claimed it had the largest home-equity market share for the fourth consecutive year and was commended for being one of the country’s best in the area of workforce development.

Troy, Mich.-based Flagstar Bancorp’s volume shrunk by the most — down 40% annually to $34 billion, followed by Washington Mutual’s 39% downturn and Cendant’s 37%.

Despite the reduction, Washington Mutual remained the third largest lender with production of $254.6 billion. Slashed refi activity also pushed the Seattle-based thrift’s mortgage unit to reduce its headcount by more than 10,000 last year. WaMu, also a “most admired” company, has yet to name a new president for its troubled unit, which has had three executives leading its activities in less than two years.

The fourth top originator was Chase Home Finance with production down 34% year-over-year to $187 billion. The JP Morgan Chase unit recently exited the manufactured home financing sector when it sold its related portfolio of loans to a subsidiary of a Berkshire Hathaway-parented company.

GMAC’s production of $147 billion was the fifth largest — even with an 18% annual decrease. The residential mortgage financing unit of auto giant General Motors recently said it was considering a restructuring of its operations to seek a stand-alone credit rating, a move Standard & Poor’s considered positive since the parent company’s ratings are being closely reviewed after it disclosed it would lower 2005 earnings guidance.

The other half of the top 10 lenders was comprised of Citimortgage, whose volume of $99.1 billion experienced the smallest downturn (5%) of all the lenders, Bank of America placed sixth with $87.6 billion, followed by National City, ABN AMRO, Cendant and Golden West.

Golden West, however, did not follow the path most lenders did — as its fundings of $49 billion jumped 36% from the previous year. Ninety-nine percent of company’s fundings were adjustable-rate mortgages. Refinance transactions represented a majority of the volume. Its also achieved a milestone in earnings and on top of being the industry’s most admired company, an investment publication named the Oakland, Calif.-based thrift’s top executives, Marion and Herb Sandler, the 2004 CEOs of the Year.

The only other lender who saw fundings increase, 6% to $23.0 billion, was American Home Mortgage. The New York based lender attributed the achievement to record-high sales staff of loan officers and account executives.