Independent Mortgage Bankers Post Improved Net Production Profits in 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 16, 2026) - Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported an average profit of $785 on each loan they originated in 2025, up from an average of $443 per loan in 2024.

"The average net production profit for IMBs in 2025 reached its highest level in four years at 21 basis points," said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA's Vice President of Industry Analysis. "While profits have improved slightly in recent years, they are still less than half the historical average going back to 2008. There was also wide variability between top and bottom performers due to differences in product mix, volume levels, geography and cost efficiencies, among other factors."

Added Walsh, "Overall annual production volume was up in 2025, while loan balances rose to new study-highs. Despite the increase in volume, per-loan production costs were slightly higher than in 2024. Historically, when volume picks up, fixed costs are spread over more loans, resulting in a reduction in per-loan costs. However, that was not the case in 2025 as rising wage growth, increases in third-party charges, and reduced application pull-through negatively impacted origination costs. Containing origination costs and increasing efficiencies will remain a differentiator between profitable and unprofitable companies in 2026."

Including both the production and servicing business lines, 78 percent of the firms in the study posted pre-tax net financial profits in 2025, up from 68 percent in 2024 and 36 percent in 2023. Were it not for profits from the servicing side of the business, the percentage of firms recording net financial profits would have fallen to 64 percent in 2025.

• Average production volume was $2.5 billion (7,273 loans) per company in 2025, up from $2.1 billion (6,259 loans) per company in 2024. On a repeater company basis, average production volume was $2.4 billion (7,158 loans) in 2025, up from $2.1 billion (6,290 loans) in 2024.
• In basis points, the average production income was 21 basis points in 2025, up from an average of 10 basis points in 2024. Since the inception of MBA's Annual Performance Report in 2008, net production income by year has averaged 45 basis points ($1,031 per loan).
• The refinancing share of total originations (by dollar volume) increased to 21 percent in 2025 from 16 percent in 2024. For the entire mortgage industry, MBA estimates the refinancing share last year increased to 34 percent from 20 percent in 2024.
• The average loan balance for first mortgages reached a study-high of $371,965 in 2025, up from $357,631 in 2024.
• Total production revenues (fee income, net secondary marking income and warehouse spread) were 347 basis points in 2025, up from 345 basis points in 2024. On a per-loan basis, production revenues were $11,879 per loan in 2025, up from $11,520 per loan in 2024.
• Total loan production expenses - commissions, compensation, occupancy, equipment, and other production expenses and corporate allocations - increased to $11,094 per loan in 2025, up from $11,076 in 2024.
• Net servicing financial income, which includes net servicing operational income, as well as mortgage servicing right (MSR) amortization and gains and losses on MSR valuations, was $89 per loan in 2025, down from $301 per loan in 2024.
• Including all business lines, 78 percent of the firms in the study posted pre-tax net financial profits in 2025, up from 68 percent in 2024.