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Well Fargo Hits Record Earnings on Mortgage Volume (Update 2)

Written by: Philip van Doorn 04/13/12 - 12:05 PM EDT
Tickers in this article: WFC
  • Wells Fargo reports first-quarter earnings per share of 75 cents.
  • Revenue increased 5% from the previous quarter, to $21.6 billion.
  • Analysts were expecting EPS of 73 cents on revenue of $20.51 billion.

Updated with Well's Fargo's increase in noninterest expenses, declining credit costs, comments from CFO Tim Sloan, and a comment from Atlantic Equities analyst Richard Staite.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Wells Fargo on Friday reported a 21% quarter-over-quarter increase in mortgage banking revenue, pushing profits to record levels.

The company earned $4.2 billion, or a record 75 cents a share during the first quarter, compared to fourth-quarter earnings of $4.1 billion, or 73 cents a share, and earnings of $3.8 billion, or 67 cents a share, during the first quarter of 2011.

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The first-quarter results beat the 73-cent consensus estimate, among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

First quarter revenue totaled $21.6 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $20.51 billion, mainly reflecting the strong mortgage origination volume. In comparison, Wells Fargo reported total revenue of $20.6 billion during the fourth quarter, and $20.3 billion, during the first quarter of 2011.

The company reported $129 billion in mortgage loan originations during the first quarter, increasing from $120 billion the previous quarter, and $84 billion a year earlier. Noninterest mortgage revenue totaled $2.9 billion during the fourth quarter, growing from $2.4 billion during the fourth quarter, and $2.0 billion, during the first quarter of 2011.

During Wells Fargo's earnings conference call CFO Tim Sloan said that "only 15%" of the company's first-quarter mortgage volume came from President Obama's expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP 2, which allows certain mortgage loan borrowers to refinance their homes at the current low rates, no matter how much the value of the home has declined.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, Sloan said that "the unclosed mortgage pipeline was solid at $79 billion at quarter-end."