Top Adjustable Mortgage Lenders – The Truth About Mortgages

Since fixed rate mortgages are no longer for sale, I thought it would be worth taking a look at the best adjustable rate mortgage lenders around the country.

These are the companies that have created the most ARMs based on loan volume for the most recent year data available.

In 2021, approximately $611 billion in ARM financing was provided by more than 3,000 mortgage companies. So it was clearly not a niche product.

But 10 companies outperformed the rest. And guess what? They are all banks!

Read on to see our top 10 list for more details.

Best adjustable rate mortgage lenders in the united states

classification	Company Name	Loan size 2021
1.	Chasing	$41.8 billion
2.	American bank	$33.5 billion
3.	First Republic Bank	$23.8 billion
4.	Wells Fargo	$21.1 billion
5.	us the bank	$18.0 billion
6.	PNC Bank	$11.7 billion
7.	Charles Schwab Bank	$11.6 billion
8.	Citizens Bank	$11.0 billion
9.	Union Bank	$10.1 billion
10.	Citibank	$10.0 billion

JPMorgan Chase ranked first with nearly $42 billion in adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) funded in 2021, according to HMDA data from Richie May.

That was more than enough to take the top spot, with second place Bank of America raking in $33.5 billion in ARMs.

In third place was First Republic Bank (yes that bank) with $23.8 billion in financing, making it a huge player for ARM loan as well.

And if the latest fallout is permanent, it will create a huge hole in the ARM home loan market.

Wells Fargo ranked fourth with ARM creation volume of $21.1 billion, followed by US Bank with $18 billion.

The top ten included PNC Bank, Charles Schwab Bank, Citizens Bank, Union Bank, and Citibank.

For the record, Union Bank was acquired by US Bank in late 2022. So there may be two vacancies in the top 10.

The largest non-bank lender to ARM was Rocket Mortgage, which originated $6.2 billion in ARM in 2021.

Top 1/7 ARM lenders in the US

classification	Company Name	Loan size 2021
1.	Chasing	$13.2 billion
2.	American bank	$11.7 billion
3.	Wells Fargo	$11.1 billion
4.	First Republic Bank	$8.9 billion
5.	Charles Schwab Bank	$4.1 billion
6.	Union Bank	3.6 billion dollars
7.	us the bank	$3.1 billion
8.	Rocket mortgage	$3.0 billion
9.	PNC Bank	$2.8 billion
10.	NYCB (Flag Star)	$2.8 billion

There are a wide variety of adjustable rate mortgages out there and the 7/1 ARM is probably the most popular recently.

It provides a full 84 months of fixed payments before it becomes adjustable.

The category was topped by Chase with $13.2 billion in financing, followed by Bank of America with $11.7 billion and Wells Fargo with $11.1 billion.

In fourth place was First Republic Bank which was attacked with $8.9 billion, and Charles Schwab Bank rounded out the top five with $4.1 billion.

The bottom half of the top ten included Union Bank, US Bank, Rocket Mortgage, PNC Bank, and New York Community Bank.

Recently, NYCB’s Flagstar Bank unit took over the deposits and certain loan portfolios of the failing Signature Bank.

The second largest non-bank player in the ARM 7/1 game was Loan Depot with $2.0 billion in financing.

Top 1/5 ARM lenders in the US

classification	Company Name	Loan size 2021
1.	Chasing	$17.3 billion
2.	NYCB (Flag Star)	$3.4 billion
3.	American bank	$2.6 billion
4.	Charles Schwab Bank	$2.4 billion
5.	CU state employees	$2.3 billion
6.	signature bank	$1.6 billion
7.	Luther Burbank Thrift	$1.5 billion
8.	Axos Bank	$1.4 billion
9.	Wells Fargo	$1.4 billion
10.	Pacific Chief	$1.2 billion

Another popular type of rate mortgage is the 5/1 ARM, which provides fixed payments for 60 months.

Once again, Chase topped the category with $17.3 billion in funding, squeezing out the competition and then some.

In second place was NYCB (Flagstar Bank) with $3.4 billion, followed by Bank of America with $2.6 billion.

Fourth place went to Charles Schwab Bank with $2.4 billion, and the State Employees Credit Union came in fifth place with $2.3 billion.

The North Carolina-based company was the only credit union to make the top ten list.

The sixth place went to the now-defunct Signature Bank and the so-called Luther Burbank Savings, which took the seventh place.

Axos Bank, Wells Fargo and Pacific Premier Bank rounded out the top 10.

Where can I get an adjustable rate mortgage?

As you can see from these lists, adjustable rate mortgage lending is dominated by depository banks.

So if you’re looking to get your hands on an ARM, instead of a boring 30 year old flat, a bank might be a good place to look.

In fact, only two non-bank lenders made it into the top 25, namely Rocket Mortgage and Loans.

Banks tend to keep ARMs and other non-agency loans (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA) on their own books.

This allows them to offer portfolio loans on their own unique terms that other companies may not.

If you’re considering an ARM mortgage versus a fixed-rate mortgage, be sure to pay close attention to the spread between the products.

This is the interest rate differential, which will help you identify potential savings, which should also be weighed against the risk of resetting the ARM higher.