There’s a new No. 1 atop the list of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders.
United Wholesale Mortgage pushed past Rocket Mortgage, the champ and the biggest player in the field by a wide margin for the past six years, to claim the top spot in loan origination volume.
Elsewhere on the list, LoanDepot fell from third to 10th in the rankings, giving up its spot to Bank of America, while Wells Fargo and Chase Home Lending dropped from the top 10 altogether. Wells Fargo’s exit reflects its decision to scale back mortgage lending in 2023.
How to explain the dramatic shift? Mortgage rates kept rising in 2023, and loan volumes plummeted. That reality sparked a shakeup in the roster of the biggest and most active home-loan lenders.
The 10 largest mortgage lenders by originations
While more than 5,000 lenders originated mortgages last year, most of the activity is concentrated at the top: The 10 largest mortgage lenders accounted for nearly 21 percent of all U.S. home loans originated in 2023. These rankings are based on a Bankrate analysis of preliminary Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, with an assist from ComplianceTech’s LendingPatterns.com.
The top 10 largest lenders by number of mortgages originated last year are:
- United Wholesale Mortgage: This lender originated 294,000 loans worth nearly $108.5 billion in 2023, according to HMDA data.
- Rocket Mortgage: Rocket originated nearly 289,000 loans worth $78 billion in 2023. That’s a sharp drop from the boom year of 2021, when Rocket made more than 1.2 million loans worth $340 billion. In the latest J.D. Power rankings of customer satisfaction with loan originators, Rocket placed sixth, with a score of 747.
- Bank of America: The megabank originated 92,000 loans worth $28 billion. In the J.D. Power survey, Bank of America placed third, with a score of 760.
- Fairway Independent Mortgage: Fairway originated 86,000 loans worth $27 billion. In the J.D. Power survey, Bank of America ranked seventh, with a score of 746.
- CrossCountry Mortgage: CrossCountry Mortgage made 83,000 loans with a combined value of nearly $30 billion. In the J.D. Power survey, the lender ranked below average, with a score of 663.
- U.S. Bank: U.S. Bank originated 72,000 loans worth $26 billion. In the J.D. Power survey, the bank ranked below average, with a score of 708.
- Navy Federal Credit Union: This military-oriented credit union originated 71,000 loans worth $14.8 billion. In the J.D. Power survey, the lender ranked above average, with a score of 748.
- Citizens Bank: Citizens originated nearly 68,000 mortgages worth $15.6 billion. In the J.D. Power survey, Citizens ranked below average, with a score of 723.
- PNC Bank: PNC did 67,000 loans worth $19 billion. In the J.D. Power survey, the bank scored above average, with a score of 738.
- LoanDepot: This lender originated 65,000 loans worth $21.5 billion in 2023. In the J.D. Power survey, loanDepot ranked below average, with a score of 704.
When lenders are ranked by dollar volume rather than by number of loans originated, the lineup changes. Wells Fargo and Chase Home Lending are still in the top five. Wells Fargo had the largest average loan amount, at $626,752, followed by Chase at $599,195. Navy Federal had the lowest average loan amount, at $207,222. Also in the top 10 by dollar volume is DHI Mortgage, an affiliate of homebuilder D.R. Horton.
Traditional banks re-emerge
If you took out a mortgage a few years ago, chances are you opted for a non-bank lender rather than the bank who handled your checking and savings accounts. Only two traditional financial institutions ranked in the top 10 list of largest lenders in 2021.
But that pattern has changed in 2022 and 2023. Bank of America, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank and Citizens Bank remain in the top 10. Banks tend to focus on borrowers with high mortgage balances, reflecting a focus on home loans as part of their overall services to their best customers.
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