Wells Fargo saw mortgage loan production fall by 8 percent in 2021, with the bank making 27 percent fewer loans to homebuyers during a year in which it closed 270 branches and laid off 16,000 employees to cut costs.
In reporting fourth quarter results, Wells Fargo said it originated $205 billion in home loans in 2021, funding more than 193,000 purchase loans and refinancing over 392,000 mortgages. That’s down from $223 billion in 2020 loan volume, when the bank financed 265,000 home purchases and refinanced 370,000 mortgages.
Wells Fargo has been the nation’s largest provider of purchase mortgages in recent years, but Rocket Cos. CEO Jay Farner has set his company’s sights on overtaking Wells Fargo in the next 12 to 18 months.
Mortgage lending remains the second biggest revenue generator within Wells Fargo’s consumer banking and lending segment, which includes four business lines: consumer and small business banking, home lending, credit cards, auto loans, and personal lending.
Wells Fargo consumer banking and lending revenue
Revenue, in billions of dollars, generated Wells Fargo consumer banking and lending segment during the fourth quarter of 2021. Source: Wells Fargo investor presentation.
Wells Fargo saw fourth quarter revenue from consumer and small business banking grow by 4 percent, to $4.872 billion. But revenue from home lending slipped 8 percent from a year ago, to $1.843 billion. Revenue from personal lending was also down by 9 percent, but that’s a smaller line of business for Wells Fargo, generating $129 million in fourth quarter revenue.
The biggest source of growth was auto lending, with revenue up 17 percent from a year ago, to $470 million, while credit card revenue was up by a more modest 3 percent, to $1.419 billion.
In addition to the $8.7 billion in fourth quarter revenue generated by consumer banking and lending, Wells Fargo is also engaged in commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment…