The first quarter 2014 report of the National Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) released today states there were 15,246 entities that held a total of 34,054 licenses to operate as a mortgage company. This represents a decrease in the number of companies holding licenses of 1.8 percent from one year earlier.   There were 19,493 branches holding licenses to issue mortgages.

Licenses to operate as a mortgage loan originator (MLO) were held by 117,674 individuals at the end of the first quarter, an increase of 4.2 percent from the first quarter of 2013.  Licensed companies had an average of 7.4 loan originators.

NMLS received a total of 1,521 applications for company licenses during the quarter and approved 1,383.  Only a handful (five) of applications were denied; 283 applications were withdrawn.  At the same time more than double that number of licenses were revoked (16), surrendered (607), or terminated (2,018), a total of 2,641 license expirations.

There were 29,129 applications submitted for licenses as mortgage originators in the first quarter.  A total of 29,168 applications (counting carryover prior to Q1) were approved, 177 denied, and 2,592 withdrawn. 

There were 10,336 institutions holding federal mortgage registrations in the first quarter and 392,896 individuals.  The number of individuals decreased by 0.2 percent year-over-year. Ninety-six companies and 3,585 MLOs held both federal registration and one or more state licenses.

NMLS's Mortgage Call Report estimates that a total of about $100 billion in mortgage loans were originated in the first quarter of 2014.  This was a decrease of 53 percent from the first quarter of 2013.

NMLS handles licensing for most of the nation with the exception of Missouri and a single licensing entity in both Texas and Utah.