Wells Fargo Names Michael DeVito Head of Mortgage Division -- Update
January 29 2018 - 7:17PM
Dow Jones News
By Emily Glazer
Wells Fargo & Co. said Michael DeVito will lead its mortgage
division, after assuming the role on an interim basis following an
executive shake-up in late 2017.
His permanent elevation to the top mortgage spot comes at a
difficult time for the division and the broader mortgage market. As
interest rates have climbed in recent months, lenders' refinancing
businesses are slowing, crimping profits in a crucial part of the
business. Meanwhile, some analysts have expressed concern over the
new tax law's impact on some parts of the housing market.
Mr. DeVito, who earlier led mortgage production for the bank,
took over the home-lending division after the bank's now-former
head of mortgage and auto Franklin Codel was fired for making
disparaging comments about regulators, The Wall Street Journal
reported.
Mr. DeVito takes the lead of the largest mortgage lender by
volume. He will continue reporting to Mary Mack, who was named head
of the consumer lending unit in December, following Mr. Codel's
departure. That is in addition to her responsibilities leading
Wells Fargo's retail bank.
Mr. DeVito has held several executive roles at Wells Fargo or
its predecessor banks over the past 22 years and has served on the
bank's home mortgage executive management team since 2011.
Wells Fargo's mortgage business earned $928 million in fees in
the fourth quarter, down 35% from the $1.42 billion it earned in
same period a year ago.
And Wells Fargo's originations business isn't faring much
better. Wells Fargo's retail mortgage loans fell to $23 billion in
the fourth quarter, down from $35 billion a year earlier. And its
correspondent mortgage loans were $30 billion in the fourth
quarter, down from $36 billion a year ago.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo has said it charged some customers
improper fees to extend the interest-rate commitments they received
from Wells Fargo on their mortgage applications. In October, the
bank said it is reaching out to around 110,000 customers who paid a
total of $98 million in such fees, and expects refunds to be lower
than that total because, the bank said, it "believes a substantial
number of those fees were appropriately charged under its
policy."
A few months prior, the bank fired some top executives in its
mortgage retail sales group related to those problems.
Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2018 19:02 ET (00:02 GMT)
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