Residential lending drops by 25 percent

Bank of America, the country’s largest mortgage lender, saw business drop off 14 percent in the third quarter, while total U.S. mortgage originations were down about 25 percent, according to a report by MortgageDaily.com. Overall third-quarter volume was 22 percent lower than it was in the second quarter, the report indicates. Compared to a year ago, however, fundings were 40 percent higher. Wells Fargo came in at No. 2 — relinquishing its top second-quarter ranking. Wells saw volume fall by over one-fourth from the second quarter. Mortgage originations at third-place JPMorgan Chase were off 10 percent from the second quarter, while GMAC Financial Services came in about 17 percent worse. TRD