Arvest hits $1B mortgage mark for 12th straight year

Arvest Bank's mortgage company crossed the $1 billion mark in mortgage loans in the third quarter, marking the 12th consecutive year the division has hit that benchmark.

As of Sept. 30, Arvest Mortgage Co. originated $1.01 billion in mortgage loans, including both refinance loans and purchase money loans. The company closed on 6,853 loans through that period, according to a news release.

During the nine-month period ending in September, purchase money loans made up 68 percent of total mortgage loans originated by Arvest, while refinance loans comprising the remaining 32 percent. That's a 180-degree turn from 2012, when purchase loans were 33 percent and refinance loans were 67 percent.

“While the entire industry knew that refinances would continue to decline, we have been very pleased that our purchase money loans have remained strong and outpaced national projections. This indicates that consumers in our area are continuing to buy new homes and looking for local lenders to help them,” said Steven Plaisance, president and chief operating officer of Arvest Mortgage Co., in the release.

Still, purchase loans originated by Arvest totaled 4,591 through Sept. 30, with a total value of $686.2 million, compared to 5,006 loans valued at $740.6 million during the same time period last year. While that represents an 8.3 percent decrease in volume, it's less than the 13 percent decline forecasted by the Mortgage Bankers Association, the release said.[[In-content Ad]]