Full-year production totals were up for Walter Investment Management Corp. despite a slower fourth quarter. Earnings swung to a huge loss.
For the final quarter of 2014, Walter’s earnings data indicated loan funding volume was $5.378 billion.
Lending declined from the third quarter, when the company originated $5.821 billion.
Business was slightly ahead, however, of the $5.266 billion originated in the fourth-quarter 2013.
Altogether, Walter funded loans at $19.611 billion during all of 2014, which boosted production over the $18.548 billion originated in 2013.
Origination totals for the fourth-quarter 2014 included $5.022 billion in residential loans and $0.356 billion in reverse mortgages.
In the forward origination channel, $1.6 billion was originated through consumer lending channels while $3.4 billion came through correspondent acquisitions.
Locked volume increased to $5.1 billion as of the fourth quarter from $5.0 billion as of the third quarter.
The Tampa, Fla. based lender also saw applications grow to $7.3 billion over $7.1 billion from the three months ended Sept. 30.
As of Dec. 31, Walter serviced 1,690,630 loans for $194.8 billion.
The servicing portfolio was up from 1,636,068 loans at $187.3 billion as of Sept. 30 and 1,423,044 at $157.6 billion a year earlier.
The portfolio’s balance sheet came to $12.6 billion as of the end of last year, and capitalized servicing rights were at $182.2 billion.
The 9.47 percent thirty-day delinquency rate of as of the end of December 2014 improved over the 9.57 percent rate as of the end of September.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2014, income prior to taxes showed a $109 million loss, a big downturn from the $13 million profit earned from July 1 to Sept. 30 and the $7 million profit reported for the final three-month period in 2013.
Recent quarterly earnings made up a significant portion of the $119 million loss for the entire year, swinging from a $413 million profit during 2013.
“Included in the 2014 net loss are $317.7 million of pre-tax charges primarily due to $77.9 million in losses resulting from changes in valuation inputs and other assumptions used in the fair value of assets and liabilities carried at fair value, $100.8 million in legal and regulatory costs outside of the normal course of business, $82.3 million of goodwill impairment in the reverse mortgage business recognized during the second quarter and $56.7 million of servicing segment advance provisions,” the report stated.
Walter finished out the year with 6,700 employees, an increase over the 6,600 employees reported as of Sept. 30. The recent headcount also showed the mortgage firm with 300 more employees than were reported at the end of 2013.
