Despite growth in servicing and staffing, Stonegate Mortgage Corp. saw a slight decline in quarterly production for the first time in at least three years. Annual originations, however, moved higher.
Overall, Stonegate ended the fourth-quarter 2014 with 15,082 residential home loans originated for $3.369 billion.
The mortgage lender provided production information through its participation in the Mortgage Daily Fourth Quarter 2014 Origination Survey.
Correspondent acquisitions comprised the bulk of the quarter’s loan volume at $1.985 billion. Wholesale production was $0.818 billion, and retail originations were $0.565 billion.
Overall home lending was down compared to the third-quarter 2014 when the Indianapolis-based company closed 16,439 loans at $3.537 billion.
With the exception of the three-month period ended Dec. 31, 2014, Stonegate has either bested its prior quarter production totals every quarter since at least the first-quarter 2011.
Stonegate’s latest originations increased $0.987 billion compared to fourth-quarter 2013 lending.
Throughout all of 2014, Stonegate closed 59,243 loans at $12.635 billion, which was $3.927 billion more than 2013’s full-year volume.
As of the end of last year, the publicly traded company serviced 99,711 loans at $18.337 billion.
Stonegate’s mortgage servicing portfolio was at $17.667 billion as of Sept. 30 and $11.890 billion as of Dec. 31, 2013.
In staffing, Stonegate accounted for 1,294 employees at the end of December.
This headcount was 22 more than reported when the third quarter ended and 156 more than listed as of December’s end in 2013.
