Loan surge unabated at industry's big two.

Is the refinancing boom finally waning? If the latest reports from the two biggest mortgage banking companies are any indication, the answer is no. Countrywide Credit Industries Inc., Pasadena, Calif, said it wrote $4.7 billion of residential mortgages in October, up 39% from the $3.4 billion produced in October 1992.

The company's pipeline of loans in process rose to a record $9.6 billion at Oct. 31, from $9.1 billion as of Sept. 30 and from $6.4 billion a a year earlier.

The company's single-family mortgage servicing portfolio rose to $76 billion, up 67% from $45 billion a year earlier despite prepayments of $2.9 billion, or an annualized rate of about 45%.

Stanford L. Kurland, senior managing director and chief operating officer, said daily loan applications rose to well over $300 million, and strong loan production more than offset the high runoff.

North American Mortgage Co., Santa Rosa, Calif., reported that its loan fundings rose 53% in October to a record $2 billion, from $1.3 billion a year earlier. Loan originations for the year to date jumped 44% to $13.6 billion. Loan applications in October reached $2.8 billion, up 34%.

As of Oct. 31, the company's servicing portfolio was $16.7 billion, up 45% over the level a year earlier.

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