Bank of America was recognized as the top retail mortgage originator in the United States for the first nine months of 2007, as well as during the third quarter of 2007, according to a survey released by Inside Mortgage Finance.
The Charlotte-based bank and mortgage lender originated $119 billion in first mortgages and home equity loans via the retail channel for the first nine months of 2007, beating out both Wells Fargo and Countrywide.
Overall first mortgage funded production increased 27 percent in the third quarter of 2007 compared with the same period last year, with a 60 percent increase in funded mortgage originations through banking centers and a 26 percent increase in funded originations by loan officers.
The No Fee Mortgage PLUS loan program launched in April of this year played a key role in guiding the bank to the top spot.
“We’re very pleased with the success of No Fee Mortgage PLUS,” said Floyd Robinson, President of Bank of America Consumer Real Estate & Insurance Services Group, in a statement.
“We’ve achieved more than $50 billion in applications and established a competitive advantage that others simply cannot match.”
Bank of America’s retail channel is comprised of 10,000 personal bankers in nearly 6,000 banking centers, 2,200 loan officers, a phone channel known as LoanLine and the bankofamerica.com website.
“Our emergence as the market leader in retail mortgage originations underscores our focus on offering trusted mortgage products through the convenience of our banking centers, mortgage offices, call centers, and bankofamerica.com,” said Robinson.
“Despite the current disturbances in the financial markets, we stand ready to assist customers with innovative products like No Fee Mortgage PLUS, and the unmatched security of knowing that your mortgage is serviced by Bank of America.”
Bank of America announced earlier this year that it would exit the wholesale lending business by January 1.
Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com