Big bank bolsters mortgage sales force

One of the largest mortgage providers has become even bigger competition for small originators, following the addition of hundreds of mortgage professionals

One of the country’s largest mortgage providers saw growth in its mortgage lending portfolio over the third quarter – and originators now have to deal with a beefed up sales force.

The Bank of America announced a net income of $4.5 billion during its third quarter earnings call, and much of that was bolstered by its growing mortgage book.

“Over the last 12 months, the company has added more than 300 mortgage loan officers, financial solutions advisors and small business bankers to help serve customers and deepen relationships,” the Bank of America said in its quarterly result, released Wednesday.

According to the big bank, its residential mortgage and home equity loan originations were up 13% to $17 billion last quarter compared to last year’s third quarter.

"We saw solid results this quarter by continuing to execute our long-term strategy," said Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan in the company’s release. “The key drivers of our business -- deposit taking and lending to both our consumer and corporate clients -- moved in the right direction this quarter and our trading results on behalf of clients remained fairly stable in challenging capital markets conditions.

“Our balanced approach to serving customers and clients is on track as the economy continues to move forward."

BofA originated $13.7 billion in first-lien residential mortgages and $3.1 billion in home equity loans in the third quarter, compared to $11.7 billion and $3.2 billion, respectively in Q3 2014.

"Our results this quarter reflect our ongoing efforts to improve operating leverage while continuing to invest in our business," said Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio in the release. "We built capital and liquidity to record levels and grew total loans for the second consecutive quarter while continuing to operate within our risk framework."