Wells Fargo, US Bancorp to get Q3 mortgage boost
A pair of recent analyst reports paints a bullish housing picture.

By Dan Freed
Wells Fargo (WFC) and US Bancorp (USB) are among banks expected to benefit from a strong quarter of mortgage banking revenues, as federal stimulus and rising asset values continue to boost results.
Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck estimates mortgage revenues will rise 34% in the third quarter compared to the third quarter of 2011, though she believes it will be lower than the second quarter. She argues lower interest rates will stimulate refinancing activity.
She also sees continued benefits from a government refinancing program known as HARP 2.0, as well as strong gains for banks on the sale of assets.
Graseck recommends SunTrust Banks (STI), Wells Fargo and US Bancorp as the best way to invest in expected strong mortgage revenues since mortgage banking makes up the largest percentage of their overall revenues.
Rochdale Securities analyst Richard Bove argues the biggest beneficiaries will be Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo and US Bancorp.
Bove argues the Federal Reserve's purchase of $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities will drive up MBS prices and cause money to flow into the banking system. That in turn will allow banks to originate mortgages very cheaply and sell them into the bond market at a healthy profit.
The only hitch, according to Bove, is that banks will be "hampered" in creating more new mortgages "because they have dismantled a large portion of the origination facilities that existed six years ago." That shortage of supply will allow the secondary market price of mortgages -- in other words the cost of buying them after they have been created--to remain high, Bove states in a report published Tuesday.
"Ultimately, the housing market will recover because there is pent-up demand due to population growth, the failure to replace dilapidated housing; and lower affordability costs. Following this, the economy should benefit and jobs will be created. This should work," Bove writes.
More from TheStreet.com
MORE ON MSN MONEY
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
LATEST POSTS
In the never-ending contest for sales, American carmakers are pulling ahead.
FIDELITY VIEWPOINTS
- How to sell covered calls - Fidelity Investments
- Savvy year-end tax moves to consider now - Fidelity Investments
- Seven ways to prepare for tax changes
- Five reasons an annual review is crucial - Fidelity Investments
- Take a look at mid caps now - Fidelity Investments
- State of the sector: Health care - Fidelity Investments
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
ABOUT
Top Stocks provides analysis about the most noteworthy stocks in the market each day, combining some of the best content from around the MSN Money site and the rest of the Web.
Contributors include professional investors and journalists affiliated with MSN Money.
Follow us on Twitter @topstocksmsn.
