What bank holds the most mortgages in the US?

Answer 1

Well they don't hold individual mortgages but packaged blocks sold by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. There was an article today about Wall Street banks that are having problems with their holdings, yesterday a French bank suspended trading on (I think it was) 3 of their mutual funds because of US sub prime loans.

See http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2007-08-10-698354008_x.htm for more info

Answer 2

Loans are often sold on the open market to larger investors by the originating mortgage company. Many of the guidelines that they follow are suited to satisfy investors. Some companies, called correspondent lenders, sell all or most of their closed loans to these investors, accepting some risks for issuing them. They often offer niche loans at higher prices that the investor does not wish to originate.
The nations largest mortgage lender is Wells Fargo.
Fannie Mae, is a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) sponsored by the United States government. As a GSE, it is a privately-owned corporation authorized to make loans and loan guarantees. It is not backed or funded by the U.S. government, nor do the securities it issues benefit from any explicit government guarantee or protection.

This secondary mortgage market helps to replenish the supply of lendable money for mortgages and ensures that money continues to be available for new home purchases. The name "Fannie Mae" is a creative acronym-portmanteau of the company's full name that has been adopted officially for ease of identification.

Answer 3

They are not really a bank but I think Country Wide is the largest holder of mortgages.

Answer 4

perhaps you misunderstand the situation ... most mortgages in the US are packaged up into blocks and then sold to investors. who the final investors are might be near any financial outfit, including hedge funds, asset funds, pension funds, insurance companies, similar foreign firms, and the semi-government agencies such as FNMA, etc.

mortgages in the Us are divided into three different businesses ... making the deals with consumers (called origination), accepting payments and handling escrow items (called servicing), and owning the loans themselves (investors).

a financial firm can be in any or all of these businesses as it thinks prudent and profitable. Some are in all three, some in only one of the three, and a few in two of them.

does this help?

Answer 5

I have heard Washington Mutual mentioned on the news today as having the most sup-prime mortgage exposure.

Answer 6

I don't know but I do know that banks usually don't hold mortgages. They make the loan to you and sell it on the secondary market. You may continue to make your payments to them but it's called "servicing". Loans end up getting spread around to investors all over the world. That's why our latest credit crunch around subprime loans is affecting other markets in other countries.

Answer 7

if you wanna get technical ---the federal reserve


good luck :)