Despite a decline in quarterly retail originations, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted correspondent activity for the second consecutive quarter — pushing overall volume higher.
Residential loan production during the final three months of 2014 was nearly $23.9 billion, fourth-quarter earnings data released Wednesday indicate.
Chase
improved upon the previous period, when it closed $22.0 billion in home loans. There was little change from the fourth-quarter 2013, when just over $23.9 billion was funded.
Mortgage production accounted for $23.0 billion of fourth-quarter 2014 activity, while another $0.856 billion in home-equity loans were originated.
Retail originations declined to $7.7 billion from the third quarter’s $7.9 billion. But correspondent acquisitions climbed to $15.3 billion from $13.3 billion. It was the second quarter in a row that correspondent business was up.
Retail volume could slip again in the current quarter based on applications, which dipped to $12.5 billion in the fourth quarter from $12.8 billion three months prior.
At the same time, correspondent applications jumped to $20.2 billion from $17.1 billion.
Overall full-year 2014 mortgage production
plunged to $81.1 billion from $167.6 billion originated during 2013.
The third-party mortgage servicing portfolio
was $751.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2014. Chase reduced the portfolio from $766.3 billion at the end of September and $815.5 billion at the close of the previous year.
The financial institution’s mortgage investment portfolio, however, grew to $169.698 billion from $166.548 billion in the prior quarter and $168.036 billion in the year-earlier period.
Last month’s total included $67.994 billion in HELs, $92.471 billion in prime mortgages and $8.756 billion in subprime loans.
Delinquency of at least 30 days on the investment portfolio, excluding purchased credit-impaired loans, was reduced to 2.67 percent from 2.85 percent and was 3.66 percent as of Dec. 31, 2013.
On the PCI loans, delinquency
improved to 13.33 percent from 13.69 percent and was 198 basis points better than at the end of 2013.
Mortgage banking income before taxes fell to $0.566 billion from $0.767 billion. The third-quarter net was revised up from $0.724 billion originally reported.
Income also worsened from $1.000 billion in the fourth-quarter 2013, revised up from $0.950 billion originally reported.
Fourth-quarter 2014 mortgage earnings included
$0.204 billion from production, $0.023 billion from servicing and $0.339 billion from portfolios.
Prior to income taxes, Chase earned $6.3 billion at the holding company level. Income dropped from $7.7 billion in the third quarter and $7.5 billion in the year-earlier period.
The most-recent results were impacted by $0.990 billion in after-tax legal expenses.
Mortgage staffing was reduced by more than 7,500
employees during all of 2014.
The New York-based firm closed out last year with 241,359 company-wide employees, trimming its ranks from 242,388 at the end of the third quarter. Headcount stood at 251,196 at the end of 2013.
Branch count finished last month at
5,602, slipping from 5,613 as of Sept. 30.
