Wells Fargo not eyeing mortgage lender purchases

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC.N) isn't likely to buy another mortgage lender as the market for subprime loans goes through an "adjustment," and is probably adding market share as weaker lenders pull back, Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins said on Tuesday.

The No. 2 U.S. mortgage lender has fared better than many lenders in the slowing U.S. housing market, saying it does not make some loans that have proved troublesome, and passes off the credit risks on some loans to investment banking partners. Last quarter, mortgage applications and new mortgages at Wells Fargo both rose from a year earlier.

"Most of the business we do is home-grown," Atkins said in an interview. "In the mortgage business, as far as the origination side is concerned, we'll continue to focus on organic growth. Acquisitions would not be high on the list."

More than 30 subprime lenders, which make home loans to people with poor credit histories, have exited the industry in the last year, and several are up for sale.