Mortgage loan fundings at Countrywide Financial continued to climb in September, reaching $49 billion, a 58 percent increase from the same month a year ago, according to data released today.
For the third quarter, Countrywide’s mortgage loan fundings were a record $146 billion, up 59 percent over last year’s third quarter, and year-to-date mortgage loan fundings were $358 billion.
Meanwhile, monthly purchase volume was $23 billion, up 35 percent from September 2004, and third-quarter purchase volume was a record $69 billion, up 32 percent from the same quarter last year. Purchase volume so far this year totaled $171 billion, the company said.
“Overall, our operational performance for the nine months of 2005 has been robust, with some key metrics poised to break full-year records,” said Stanford L. Kurland, president and chief operating officer.
Other highlights from Countrywide’s September and third-quarter operational data included:
- Adjustable-rate loan fundings for the month were $24 billion, up 14 percent from September 2004. For the quarter, adjustable-rate loan fundings were $75 billion, an increase of 32 percent over last year. Year-to-date adjustable-rate fundings totaled $190 billion.
- Home equity loan fundings for September advanced 21 percent over last year to $3.8 billion, bringing home equity production for the quarter to $12 billion – which was up 28 percent over last year’s third quarter. Year-to-date home equity loan fundings reached $31 billion.
- Nonprime loan fundings totaled $4 billion in September, up from $3.9 billion for the same period last year. For the third quarter, nonprime fundings reached $12 billion, a gain of 2 percent over last year’s third quarter. Year-to-date nonprime fundings totaled $32 billion.
- On a consolidated basis, Countrywide funded $9.9 billion in pay-option ARM loans and $8.8 billion in interest-only loans for the month of September 2005. This compares with $2.8 billion and $6.3 billion, respectively, for the same periods a year ago.
- Average daily mortgage loan application activity in September was $3 billion, 45 percent higher than the September 2004 level. The mortgage loan pipeline advanced by 51 percent from Sept. 30, 2004 to $77 billion at Sept. 30, 2005.
- The mortgage loan-servicing portfolio continued its uninterrupted growth, reaching a new high of $1.05 trillion at Sept. 30, 2005. This is an increase of $262 billion, or 33 percent, from September 2004.
- Delinquencies in the servicing portfolio increased 35 basis points from August 2005 to 4.03 percent at the end of September. The increase was caused primarily by customers in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and seasonal fluctuations, the company said.
“Countrywide continues to assess the impact of Hurricane Katrina on our businesses, assets and operations. We expect to provide an estimate of losses when we report our third-quarter earnings results on Oct. 27, 2005,” Kurland said.
Countrywide provides mortgage banking and diversified financial services through its family of companies.
***
Send tips or a Letter to the Editor to jessica@inman.com or call (510) 658-9252, ext. 133.
