Top Lenders

Total Mortgage Services, Citizens Take Top Lender Spots

High Volumes Forced Lenders to Invest

By Diane McLaughlin
Commercial Record Staff

With low rates driving mortgage refinance activity again last year, lenders also saw a strong demand for purchase mortgages as lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic continued to drive prospective homebuyers.

“2021 was like no year we’ve ever seen in the mortgage business, especially in the Fairfield County market,” Michael Daversa, vice president and sales manager at Providence-based Citizens, said in an email to The Registry Review. “[H]ome values were increasing almost monthly, new offers were accepted only after multiple-bid situations, clients paid over-asking price in many situations, appraisal turn-times were at all-time high levels, and sellers were in complete control.”

As lenders like Citizens managed the unprecedented lending environment, had to adjust to meet the needs of borrowers in Connecticut’s competitive housing market, the level of activity created challenges

Every year, The Warren Group compiles the top 10 mortgage lenders among Connecticut’s credit unions, banks and mortgage companies, ranked by number of loans and loan volume in several origination categories. All loans were originated in 2021.

Lenders had about 33,300 single-family purchase mortgages in Connecticut in 2021, according to The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record. Single-family purchase mortgages increased by 1.7 percent over 2020 and by 19.1 percent compared to 2019 before the pandemic started.

While the state saw a small increase over 2020 in the number of single-family purchase loans, the volume of mortgages increased year-over-year by 14 percent, driven in part by higher home prices in Connecticut. The state had $13.36 billion in single-family mortgages in 2021 and $11.7 billion in 2020. Before the pandemic in 2019, the state had $8.49 billion in single-family mortgages.

Navy Federal Credit Union led credit unions with $103.3 million in single-family purchase mortgages and nearly 300 loans. East Hartford-based American Eagle Financial Credit Union was second among credit unions with 190 single-family mortgages for nearly $54 million in volume. American Eagle had the most condominium mortgages among credit unions, originating 43 loans.

Milford-based Total Mortgage Services originated more than 1,600 single-family purchase mortgages, the most in Connecticut, and $552.8 million in volume, the most among mortgage companies. The company also had $90.7 million in condominium purchase mortgages and 455 loans, the most among lenders last year.

Citizens led all lenders in 2021 with $563.3 million in single-family purchase volumes. The bank originated more than 900 loans. The Rhode Island-based bank also had $49.5 million in condominium purchase mortgages last year, second among bank lenders. JPMorgan Chase had the highest condominium purchase volume in 2021 with $54.6 million.

High Loan Volumes Challenged Lenders

Much of the purchase activity has been driven by how the COVID pandemic has changed what buyers and homeowners need and want from their homes, said Citizens’ Daversa.

“New homebuyers who were looking at working from home permanently, or on a limited basis in the office, could now look in all areas of Connecticut or even in the Northeast as commuting was no longer an issue,” Daversa said. “Existing homeowners in Connecticut now had the time, due to lack of commuting, to either renovate their existing home or look for a larger home for their families locally or in different areas of the state.”

With the high number of loan originations last year, Citizens’ main challenges included delivering a smooth process and managing the time to close the loan, Daversa said.

Like other lenders, Citizens had to extend rate-locks and closing dates, he said, while setting expectations around the time frame for the loan with clients, something the bank in a typical lending environment would not have to do.

Lenders also had to consider the expectations of referral partners, Daversa said. The bank prioritizes purchase transactions, and Daversa said the bank worked to close those loans on-time while satisfying clients and referral partners.

Citizens Invested to Meet Refi Boom

But keeping up with refinancing was a challenge, Daversa said, and the bank saw longer turnaround times compared to purchase loans.

Citizens had nearly 3,300 refinance loans among all residential types of properties, second only to Webster Bank among bank lenders, according to The Warren Group. Rocket Mortgage had the most residential refinance loans with about 11,500.

“This was a very challenging time for us because it was a bit more difficult to keep our [loan originators], clients and referral sources satisfied due to the longer processes,” Daversa said.

To meet the demand, Citizens made several internal changes in 2021, Daversa said, including upgrading its loan origination system, distributing new laptops to employees with the news operating systems, hiring additional operations staff, and changing several existing processes to keep up with the demand.

This year already looks different for mortgage lenders a mortgage rates have increased. Daversa pointed to more uncertainties for the mortgage industry with rate increases expected from the Federal Reserve, the war in Ukraine, inflation issues and a real estate market with plenty of buyers but limited inventory.

Daversa said he expects lower rates to lead to fewer refinances in 2022, while the purchase market remains competitive, with home values increasing and sellers continuing to entertain multiple offers, many over asking price.

“We are in a good position to succeed because many of our LOs have longstanding relationships with local realtors, CPAs and money managers,” Daversa said. “This is very important in a very competitive housing market.”


2021 Top Lenders

For more than 145 years, The Warren Group has been the most trusted and reliable source in New England for real estate property data. The company maintains the most comprehensive property database today due to its long-standing relationships with town assessors, clerks and county registries as well as its extensive daily collection of transaction records in the field. Transactional data is collected daily, verified, matched to the appropriate property record and posted weekly; it includes sales transfers, mortgages and refinances. 

The data in this report represents purchase and non-purchase loans made by banks, credit unions and mortgage companies in Connecticut in 2021. Category breakdowns include purchase mortgages for single-family, multifamily (two-family and three-family combined), condominium and commercial properties, as well as non-purchase residential loans (includes refinances and HELOCs). Residential and commercial data are not combined in any reports. The commercial data in these reports caps all loans at $1 billion. Each category ranks the top 10 lenders by both dollar volume and number of loans. 

For more information, please contact The Warren Group’s customer service department at customerservice@thewarrengroup.com or 617-896-5367. 

Single-Family Mortgages

Banks


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Citizens Finacial Group 922
2 JP Morgan Chase Bank 695
3 Bank of America NA 655
4 Wells Fargo Bank NA 603
5 US Bank NA 482
6 Liberty Bank 334
7 TD Bank NA 276
8 Citicorp Mortgage Inc 265
9 Webster Bank 259
10 Key Bank N.A. 242

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Citizens Finacial Group $563,297,518
2 JP Morgan Chase Bank $541,457,492
3 Wells Fargo Bank NA $459,406,461
4 Bank of America NA $415,639,097
5 US Bank NA $400,310,959
6 Citicorp Mortgage Inc $347,988,604
7 First Republic Bank $274,644,803
8 TD Bank NA $156,398,139
9 Key Bank N.A. $110,886,362
10 Webster Bank $101,576,155

Credit Unions


Number of Loans 

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Navy Federal Credit Union 298
2 American Eagle Financial Credit Union 190
3 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union 73
4 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc 55
5 USA Alliance Federal Credit Union 34
6 Pentagon Federal Credit Union 28
7 Coreplus FCU 17
8 Digital Federal Credit Union 16
9 United Nations Federal Credit Union 13
10 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union 13

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Navy Federal Credit Union $103,337,584
2 American Eagle Financial Credit Union $53,982,526
3 USA Alliance Federal Credit Union $31,678,390
4 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union $18,231,420
5 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc $16,002,403
6 Pentagon Federal Credit Union $10,268,804
7 United Nations Federal Credit Union $8,504,750
8 Bethpage Federal Credit Union $7,905,475
9 Digital Federal Credit Union $6,920,570
10 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union $5,442,650

Mortgage Companies


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Total Mortgage Services 1,671
2 Rocket Mortgage 1,364
3 Guaranteed Rate Inc 1,200
4 United Shore Financial Services LLC 1,096
5 Fairway Independent Mortgage 1,073
6 First World Mortgage 1,052
7 Guaranteed Rate Affinity LLC 972
8 LoanDepot.Com LLC 930
9 Norcom Mortgage 875
10 Cross Country Mortgage Inc 801


Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Total Mortgage Services $552,878,626
2 Rocket Mortgage $463,738,590
3 Guaranteed Rate Inc $417,067,000
4 Guaranteed Rate Affinity LLC $390,040,448
5 United Shore Financial Services LLC $356,273,154
6 LoanDepot.Com LLC $341,832,320
7 Fairway Independent Mortgage $333,253,599
8 Cross Country Mortgage Inc $332,207,940
9 Prosperity Home Mortgage LLC $267,373,837
10 William Raveis Mortgage Co $261,828,130

 

Condominium Mortgages

Banks


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Citizens Finacial Group 221
2 JP Morgan Chase Bank 180
3 US Bank NA 134
4 Wells Fargo Bank NA 130
5 Bank of America NA 123
6 Webster Bank 95
7 Newtown Savings Bank 85
8 Liberty Bank 84
9 Savings Bank of Danbury 69
10 Peoples United Bank 67

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 JP Morgan Chase Bank $54,636,970
2 Citizens Finacial Group $49,509,267
3 Wells Fargo Bank NA $39,145,189
4 Bank of America NA $37,000,440
5 US Bank NA $36,686,426
6 Webster Bank $22,024,795
7 Citicorp Mortgage Inc $18,785,761
8 Newtown Savings Bank $17,374,211
9 Savings Bank of Danbury $17,203,265
10 First Republic Bank $16,479,482

Credit Unions


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 American Eagle Financial Credit Union 43
2 Navy Federal Credit Union 40
3 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union 15
4 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc 12
5 Pentagon Federal Credit Union 11
6 United Nations Federal Credit Union 8
7 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union 6
8 Mutual Security Credit Union 5
9 (tie) Digital Federal Credit Union 4
9 (tie) Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union 4
9 (tie) Affinity Federal Credit Union 4
9 (tie) Suma Yonkers FCU 4

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Navy Federal Credit Union $7,737,915
2 American Eagle Financial Credit Union $6,590,900
3 USA Alliance Federal Credit Union $2,588,600
4 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union $2,130,553
5 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc $1,913,105
6 United Nations Federal Credit Union $1,895,200
7 Pentagon Federal Credit Union $1,816,800
8 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union $1,707,853
9 Digital Federal Credit Union $1,098,055
10 Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union $1,074,500

Mortgage Companies


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Total Mortgage Services 455
2 Rocket Mortgage 323
3 United Shore Financial Services LLC 274
4 Guaranteed Rate Affinity LLC 262
5 Guaranteed Rate Inc 248
6 Cross Country Mortgage Inc 240
7 LoanDepot.Com LLC 238
8 Prosperity Home Mortgage LLC 210
9 Fairway Independent Mortgage 183
10 First World Mortgage 181

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Total Mortgage Services $90,769,667
2 Rocket Mortgage $71,062,585
3 Guaranteed Rate Affinity LLC $59,755,730
4 Cross Country Mortgage Inc $59,035,657
5 LoanDepot.Com LLC $57,573,962
6 United Shore Financial Services LLC $54,975,451
7 Guaranteed Rate Inc $47,484,740
8 Prosperity Home Mortgage LLC $39,502,353
9 Fairway Independent Mortgage $35,924,928
10 William Raveis Mortgage Co $33,019,564

 

Residential Nonpurchase Loans

Banks


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Webster Bank 3,991
2 Citizens Finacial Group 3,292
3 Wells Fargo Bank NA 3,164
4 Peoples United Bank 2,754
5 JP Morgan Chase Bank 2,285
6 Bank of America NA 2,252
7 Liberty Bank 2,214
8 Key Bank N.A. 1,596
9 US Bank NA 1,183
10 Newtown Savings Bank 1,013


Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 JP Morgan Chase Bank $1,395,209,864
2 Bank of America NA $1,180,016,247
3 Wells Fargo Bank NA $1,172,104,398
4 Webster Bank $844,840,466
5 Citizens Finacial Group $838,809,776
6 Peoples United Bank $768,700,322
7 US Bank NA $608,492,912
8 Liberty Bank $477,608,467
9 Key Bank N.A. $422,608,618
10 TD Bank NA $380,387,377


Credit Unions


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 American Eagle Financial Credit Union 1,905
2 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc 1,077
3 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union 942
4 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union 549
5 Connecticut State Employees Fed Cr Un 542
6 Navy Federal Credit Union 541
7 Waterbury Teachers Federal Credit Union 506
8 Connex Credit Union 404
9 Coreplus FCU 302
10 Dutch Point Credit Union 243

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 American Eagle Financial Credit Union $282,776,428
2 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc $179,828,198
3 Navy Federal Credit Union $145,331,383
4 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union $127,296,048
5 Connecticut State Employees Fed Cr Un $88,508,682
6 USA Alliance Federal Credit Union $59,559,543
7 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union $58,623,755
8 Waterbury Teachers Federal Credit Union $52,821,704
9 Pentagon Federal Credit Union $42,624,221
10 Coreplus FCU $38,334,893

Mortgage Companies


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Rocket Mortgage 11,498
2 LoanDepot.Com LLC 3,885
3 Freedom Mortgage Corp 3,090
4 United Shore Financial Services LLC 2,052
5 Total Mortgage Services 1,841
6 Guaranteed Rate Inc 1,713
7 Nationstar Mortgage 1,694
8 Home Point Financial Corporation 1,636
9 Better Mortgage Corp 1,564
10 Amerisave Mortgage Corporation 1,460

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Rocket Mortgage $3,008,345,669
2 LoanDepot.Com LLC $1,196,190,752
3 Freedom Mortgage Corp $711,752,246
4 Better Mortgage Corp $541,224,428
5 United Shore Financial Services LLC $536,551,169
6 Total Mortgage Services $517,785,284
7 Guaranteed Rate Inc $506,593,640
8 Home Point Financial Corporation $480,575,279
9 Amerisave Mortgage Corporation $397,208,980
10 Cross Country Mortgage Inc $389,728,751

 

Commercial Purchase Mortgages

Banks


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Webster Bank 69
2 Liberty Bank 31
3 Thomaston Savings Bank 25
4 TD Bank NA 21
5 Peoples United Bank 18
6 Dime Bank 18
7 (tie) Union Savings Bank 14
7 (tie) Key Bank N.A. 14
7 (tie) Bank of America NA 14
7 (tie) Eastern CT Savings Bank 14

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Capital One Bank $1,075,609,500
2 Liberty Bank $891,143,812
3 JP Morgan Chase Bank $187,056,000
4 Truist Bank $88,500,000
5 Wells Fargo Bank NA $76,667,909
6 Webster Bank $50,229,189
7 Peoples United Bank $21,552,729
8 Union Savings Bank $20,075,850
9 Wisconsin Bank  & Trust $18,750,000
10 Berkshire Bank $17,451,317

Credit Unions


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union 23
2 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union 8
3 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc 4
4 (tie) Hanscom Fed Credit Union 2
4 (tie) Freedom Credit Union 2
4 (tie) Polish National Credit Union 2
4 (tie) American Eagle Financial Credit Union 2
4 (tie) Westerly Community Credit Union 2
4 (tie) Coreplus FCU 2

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union $24,060,920
2 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union $4,936,600
3 Jovia Financial Credit Union $3,832,500
4 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc $1,805,000
5 GE Employees Credit Union $1,700,000
6 Hanscom Fed Credit Union $1,696,000
7 Affinity Federal Credit Union $1,369,677
8 Freedom Credit Union $1,103,500
9 Atlanta Postal Credit Union $995,000
10 Polish National Credit Union $994,000

Mortgage Companies


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Loan Funder LLC 23
2 (tie) Sachem Capital Corp 19
2 (tie) Total Mortgage Services 19
4 First World Mortgage 16
5 (tie) Caliber Home Loans 14
5 (tie) Velocity Commercial Capital LLC 14
6 (tie) Rocket Mortgage 13
6 (tie) Fairway Independent Mortgage 13
6 (tie) Pinnacle Financial Services LLC 13
7 (tie) LoanDepot.Com LLC 12
7 (tie) Guaranteed Rate Inc 12

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Greystone Servicing Corp $77,069,000
2 Sachem Capital Corp $15,794,065
3 Corevest American Finance $15,000,000
4 HarborOne Mortgage $14,272,509
5 Loan Funder LLC $10,725,591
6 Berkaida Commercial Mtg LLC $8,924,000
7 Total Mortgage Services $8,029,166
8 CBRE Capital Markets Inc $5,880,000
9 Caliber Home Loans $4,989,466
10 First World Mortgage $4,691,368

 

Multifamily Purchase Mortgages

Banks


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Liberty Bank 79
2 Citizens Finacial Group 65
3 Bank of England Mtg Co dba England Lendi 40
4 Bank of America NA 39
5 Wells Fargo Bank NA 26
6 JP Morgan Chase Bank 24
7 Flagstar Bank FSB 23
8 Thomaston Savings Bank 21
9T Key Bank N.A. 19
9T TD Bank NA 19

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Citizens Finacial Group $23,829,839
2 Liberty Bank $20,003,088
3 Bank of America NA $11,874,983
4 JP Morgan Chase Bank $11,538,986
5 Bank of England Mtg Co dba England Lendi $10,380,922
6 Wells Fargo Bank NA $9,063,235
7 TD Bank NA $7,173,015
8 US Bank NA $6,798,734
9 Key Bank N.A. $6,688,937
10 Flagstar Bank FSB $6,213,170

Credit Unions


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 (tie) Charter Oak Federal Credit Union 10
1 (tie) Navy Federal Credit Union 10
3 American Eagle Financial Credit Union 9
4 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union 4
5 (tie) Bethpage Federal Credit Union 3
5 (tie) CMG Financial 3
5 (tie) Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc 3
6 (tie) Finex CU 2
6 (tie) Coreplus FCU 2
6 (tie) Mutual Security Credit Union 2

Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Navy Federal Credit Union $2,767,044
2 Charter Oak Federal Credit Union $2,538,624
3 American Eagle Financial Credit Union $2,163,100
4 CMG Financial $1,429,579
5 Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union $1,353,250
6 Sikorsky Financial Credit Union Inc $1,022,500
7 Hanscom Federal Credit Union $848,000
8 Bethpage Federal Credit Union $809,071
9 Mutual Security Credit Union $773,100
10 Pentagon Federal Credit Union $639,900

Mortgage Companies


Number of Loans

Rank Lender Name Number
1 Total Mortgage Services 215
2 First World Mortgage 212
3 United Shore Financial Services LLC 164
4 LoanDepot.Com LLC 147
5 Caliber Home Loans 133
6 Fairway Independent Mortgage 131
7 Guaranteed Rate Inc 108
8 Rocket Mortgage 100
9 Cross Country Mortgage Inc 91
10 Movement Mortgage LLC 89


Loan Volume

Rank Lender Name Volume
1 Total Mortgage Services $64,944,236
2 First World Mortgage $53,172,198
3 LoanDepot.Com LLC $46,569,324
4 United Shore Financial Services LLC $45,584,128
5 Caliber Home Loans $40,909,986
6 Fairway Independent Mortgage $35,441,306
7 Guaranteed Rate Inc $31,161,750
8 Rocket Mortgage $26,979,796
9 Cross Country Mortgage Inc $25,382,844
10 Movement Mortgage LLC $22,758,921