Bank of America is scheduled to report its second quarter earnings Tuesday morning at 6:45 ET, and if it follows the same patterns as some of the other major banks, it could see a significant decline in mortgage banking income.
In the first quarter, the bank’s net income increased 40% to $4.9 billion, up from $3.5 billion the year before, and up from $4.7 billion in the fourth quarter.
Net interest income increased 5% from last year to $11.1 billion reflecting the higher interest rates and growth in loans and deposits, according to the bank.
However, despite these positive results, mortgage banking created a drag on earnings in the first quarter. In the consumer banking sector, noninterest income decreased from $2.53 million last year to $2.5 in the first quarter, due in part to lower mortgage banking income.
And mortgage banking income is set to drop even more in the second quarter this year. In its original forecast, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicted mortgage originations to hit a total of $1.63 trillion in 2017, however now some experts expect these downwardly-revised expectations are still too high.
One analyst explained mortgage banking is expected to disappoint as the major banks prepared to report their earnings.
Therefore, it came as no surprise when Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase reported their financial results for the first half of the year mortgages were not a significant driver of revenue.
HousingWire’s Senior Financial Reporter Ben Lane pointed out Friday’s results provide added confirmation that 2017 will not be kind to mortgages, for the big banks at least.
While it is probable that Bank of America's earnings will show the same dwindling mortgage banking income as the other major banks, the market will be certain once the bank reports Tuesday morning.
