Mortgage Bank Profits Declined Substantially in Q4

Mortgage Bank Profits Declined Substantially in Q4

The data is in for Q4, 2021, and it was not a good quarter for mortgage profitability according to the Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).  The data covers 359 companies with 83% being independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and the remainder falling into the category of "subsidiaries and other non-depository institutions."   “Production margins tightened substantially in the fourth quarter of 2021. After a two-year run of above-average profitability, pre-tax net production income per loan reached its lowest level since the first quarter of 2019,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “Among the headwinds were lower revenues and higher production costs.” This doesn't mean the industry was unprofitable.