Sustained Drop in Bank Failures Behind Fewer Mortgage Casualties

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Oct 01, 2012, 07:00 ET

DALLAS, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- This year is on pace to see fewer mortgage-related closings and failures than any since the subprime crisis erupted. Bank failures, which have fallen each of the past four quarters, supported the latest improvement. Mortgage brokers lost access to more wholesale lenders.

Casualties fell to 17 in the third quarter from the second quarter's 25, according to data tracked by Mortgage Daily for the Mortgage Graveyard. A year earlier, the number was 31.

So far this year, 69 mortgage-related entities have exited the business.

Based on the third-quarter pace, 2012 could see fewer than 90 casualties -- a huge improvement from 137 during 2011.

The last time casualties were this low was in 2006, when 31 were tracked. The subprime mortgage crises exploded in 2007 -- a year that saw 167 mostly non-bank mortgage firms vanish.

"With an emerging rebound in the U.S. real estate market, improving residential loan performance and a healthy refinance rally persisting, we project that the favorable trend will continue," said Mortgage Daily Founder and Publisher Sam Garcia.

Non-bank closings tumbled to two from the second quarter's nine.

Bank failures totaled 12 and have been down each of the past four quarters.

Credit union failures jumped to three from one.

Type	Q3 2012	Q2 2012	Q3 2011
Nonbanks	2	9	3
Banks	12	15	26
Credit Unions	3	1	2
Total	17	25	31

The highest-profile departure was Wells Fargo's exit from wholesale lending. The move was tied to a $175 million settlement over allegations of discriminatory lending.

Pacific Mercantile Bank, which closed down its wholesale business in 2005 then reopened it four years later, disclosed that it would again abandon mortgage brokers and focus entirely on retail lending.

Complete details about mortgage-related businesses to fail or close are available at: http://www.MortgageDaily.com/MortgageGraveyard.asp?spcode=pr

Media requests for full 2012 report [email protected]

About MortgageDaily.com

Founded in 1998 by 20-year mortgage industry veteran Sam Garcia, Mortgage Daily is a leading online source of mortgage news and mortgage statistics for the mortgage industry. In addition to the weekly Mortgage Market Index, Mortgage Daily also publishes the quarterly Mortgage Employment Index, Mortgage Litigation Index and Mortgage Fraud Index and a quarterly ranking of the biggest lenders and servicers. Visit Mortgage Daily at www.MortgageDaily.com.