Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, released Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, showed a reshuffle in the top 10 lenders by volume for 2021.
According to an analysis of the HMDA data by Polygon Research application HMDAVision, the top 10 lenders by volume are:
- Rocket Mortgage
- United Wholesale Mortgage
- Wells Fargo
- LoanDepot
- JPMorgan Chase
- New Residential Investment Corp.
- Freedom Mortgage
- Bank of America
- Homepoint
- Guaranteed Rate
The two top lenders, Rocket Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage, each maintained their positions. Rocket pumped out $340 billion in loans in 2021, 8.55% more than it did in 2020. Wholesale lender UWM originated $227 billion, but far exceeded Rocket in terms of growth. Its originations increased 24% from the year prior.
Wells Fargo moved up one notch, originating $141 billion, a 11% increase from 2021. LoanDepot, too, moved from fifth to fourth most originations, increasing its volume by 36% to $136.7 billion.
JPMorgan Chase rose from eighth to fifth greatest origination volume, with a 17% increase to $112 billion in loans.
New Residential Investment Corp., which acquired Caliber Home Loans in August 2021, catapulted to sixth place. Combined, the two originated $105 billion in 2021, 13.5% more than in 2020.
Freedom Mortgage was the only top ten lender to lose ground last year, originating nearly 10% less than it did in 2020, coming in at about $89 billion.
Bank of America clawed its way up from ninth to eighth largest lender by volume, with about $84 billion in 2021. Homepoint and Guaranteed Rate both surged into the top 10, with Homepoint increasing its volume by a whopping 81% to $74 billion. Guaranteed Rate originated slightly less, at $73.8 billion, but still 25% more by volume than it did the previous year.
HMDA data revealed sizable dip in refinances last year, while cash-out refis surged and lending to minority borrowers crept upward.
Total originations in 2021 totaled about $4.47 trillion, HMDAVision shows. Volume of purchase originations, cash-out refinances and even home improvement loans were up from the previous year.
Total purchase originations came in at $1.8 trillion in 2021, a nearly 25% increase from 2020. Homeowners tapped $866 billion of equity in the form of cash-out refinances in 2021.
Refinances, however, in the face of a potential rate hike, decreased 16% to $1.6 billion.
The HMDA data also show that minority lending inched upward in 2021. Minority borrowers accounted for 25.4% of the number of originations, compared to 23.2% in 2021. By volume, despite steeply rising home prices, the share of minority borrowers also grew to 27.1% from 24.7%.
The share of minority borrowers for the top 10 lenders, at 30%, was markedly greater than that of the rest of the market. Recent research has shown that depositories lag nonbanks when it comes to minority lending.
