SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Analysts question if Wells Fargo is too big to lend

Aug 14, 2012, 8:42 AM | Updated: Mar 4, 2016, 5:55 am

A wide variety of watchers are sounding alarm bells over San Francisco-based bank Wells Fargo&#8217...

A wide variety of watchers are sounding alarm bells over San Francisco-based bank Wells Fargo's massive share of the home mortgage business. (AP Photo/CX Matiash)

(AP Photo/CX Matiash)

A wide variety of watchers are sounding alarm bells over San Francisco-based bank Wells Fargo’s massive share of the home mortgage business.

Regulators and lawmakers are concerned about Wells Fargo’s dominance of the mortgage market, as it made 33.1 percent of new loans in the first half of 2012 and controls 18.5 percent on the servicing side.

The company is not suspected of any wrongdoing in reaching its status. However, as Mortgage Bankers Association CEO David Stevens explains, “If the market is too concentrated on one company, and if they were to change their strategy around mortgage originations or got into financial trouble and had to leave the market altogether, you could have market disruptions.”

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Analysts question if Wells Fargo is too big to lend