Biggest Mortgage Lenders

DALLAS, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Among the five biggest U.S. mortgage
lenders last year, three saw their originations fall from the previous year,
according to a preliminary analysis of earnings data by
http://www.MortgageDaily.com.
Countrywide Financial Corp. maintained its standing as the No. 1
residential lender, with a reported $408.2 billion in residential production
during 2007. But the mortgage behemoth saw a decline from 2006, when it
reported $462.5 billion in volume.
A pending merger between California-based Countrywide and North Carolina-
based Bank of America Corp. will create a company that is likely to originate
in the neighborhood of between $425 billion and $475 billion a year -- far
more than any competitor.
Wells Fargo & Co. maintained its No. 2 spot, though the San Francisco-
based giant also reported a drop in annual fundings.
Citigroup Inc., with $151.9 billion in reported originations last year,
bumped Washington Mutual Inc. from the No. 5 spot.
Citi, along with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and BoA, actually saw an increase in
residential volume from 2006.
JPMorgan is rumored to be considering an acquisition of WaMu. A combined
company, with annual originations that would likely be between $275 billion
and $325 billion, would have the potential to unseat Wells as the No. 2
biggest U.S. mortgage lender.

Lender Ranking by Residential Volume
2007 Full Year (billions)

Ranking Company Originations
1. Countrywide $408.2
2. Wells Fargo $272.0
3. Chase $207.7
4. BoA $188.6
5. Citigroup $151.9

Lender Ranking by Residential Volume
2007 4th Quarter (billions)

Ranking Company Q4 2007 Originations
1. Countrywide $68.5
2. Wells Fargo $56.0
3. Chase $49.8
4. BoA $44.1
5. Citigroup $29.5

"While last year was quite volatile for U.S. mortgage bankers, recent
actions by the Federal Reserve as well as a flight to quality by investors has
helped push mortgage rates lower," said MortgageDaily.com Publisher Sam
Garcia. "As a result, mortgage originators have seen refinance activity pick
up recently and are likely to see an increase in funded loans during the first
quarter of 2008 compared the fourth quarter 2007."
Complete residential production news and data available at:
http://www.MortgageDaily.com/Fundings.asp?spcode=pr
About MortgageDaily.com
Founded in 1998, MortgageDaily.com is a dominant online news source for
the mortgage industry. Around one million mortgage business news pages are
viewed monthly at MortgageDaily.com and its affiliate publications.
CONTACT:
Shaun Bartlett
214.521.1300
3811-700 Turtle Creek Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75219

SOURCE MortgageDaily.com

Shaun Bartlett of MortgageDaily.com, +1-214-521-1300