Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has announced that the company should overtake JPMorgan Chase in direct-to-consumer mortgage lending over the next six months, according to the Financial Times. Moynihan says he has instructed bankers to be “more aggressive” in pursuing and offering loans to companies.
In the first nine months of 2012, BofA originated $53.4bn of retail mortgages, making it the third biggest lender after Wells Fargo and JPMorgan.
BofA has endured a challenging few years due to compensation claims against mortgages gone bad, most of which had been underwritten by Countrywide, whom the bank acquired in 2008. In the same interview with the FT, Moynihan has indicated that the bank is ready to settle any outstanding claims. “Doesn't mean we won't fight if people aren't being reasonable,” he said. “But it's in our best interests to get all this stuff behind us.”
According to Insider Mortgage Finance, BofA lending had dropped 37 percent to $21.3bn in the third quarter of 2012, year on year. However the bank still finished the year as the best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average with a 109 percent increase in stock.
The bank has since become the first large Wall Street operation to surpass new international capital requirements, seven years ahead of the cut off date.
