Thanks to newly-released data, it’s time to take a fresh look at the top mortgage lenders in California in 2024.
The Golden State is by far the biggest market for home loans, accounting for roughly 14% of the overall market in the United States.
Nowhere else even comes close, including heavyweights like Florida and Texas, with about 9% market share. Or New York with about 4%.
As you might expect, the big household names make this list, and many are also on the top-10 list nationwide.
Let’s take a look at who topped the rankings, and break it down by home purchase lending and mortgage refinancing, along with a look at big cities like LA and SF.
Top 10 Mortgage Lenders in California (Overall)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $28.4 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $16.2 billion |
| 3. | U.S. Bank | $9.9 billion |
| 4. | Chase | $7.7 billion |
| 5. | Wells Fargo | $7.6 billion |
| 6. | Bank of America | $7.5 billion |
| 7. | Citi | $5.5 billion |
| 8. | CrossCountry | $5.4 billion |
| 9. | BMO | $4.2 billion |
| 10. | loanDepot | $3.9 billion |
In 2024, United Wholesale Mortgage was the top mortgage lender in California, according to HMDA data from Richey May.
They were also the top mortgage lender overall in 2024, so this came as no real surprise.
UWM took the top spot in the Golden State by funding a whopping $28.4 billion in home loans.
Perhaps more impressive, they did so via the wholesale channel only, solely relying upon independent mortgage brokers to get the job done (they also operate Mortgage Matchup).
The Pontiac, Michigan-based company doesn’t have a retail or direct-to-consumer business, yet still managed to capture nearly 12% of the California mortgage market.
They handily beat out their crosstown rivals Rocket Mortgage by about $12 billion, which took the second spot.
In third was Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank with a much smaller $9.9 billion, followed by Chase with $7.7 billion.
For the record, Union Bank was acquired by U.S. Bank, so that likely helped them climb the rankings recently. And Chase absorbed production from the now-defunct First Republic Bank.
Coming in fifth was Wells Fargo, which used to be #1 overall for many years before greatly reducing its mortgage footprint.
Also in the top 10 were Bank of America, Citi, CrossCountry Mortgage, BMO, and loanDepot.
Depository banks are still doing a lot of mortgage lending in California, with six of the top 10 banks and the remainder nonbanks.
Altogether, more than $237 billion in home loans were originated in the state last year, down considerably from the $500 billion to $1 trillion seen in recent years.
Top California Mortgage Lenders (for Home Purchases)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $19.4 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $10.8 billion |
| 3. | U.S. Bank | $6.7 billion |
| 4. | Wells Fargo | $6.4 billion |
| 5. | Chase | $5.5 billion |
| 6. | Bank of America | $5.2 billion |
| 7. | CrossCountry | $4.4 billion |
| 8. | Citi | $4.4 billion |
| 9. | Lennar Mortgage | $3.7 billion |
| 10. | BMO | $3.4 billion |
Now let’s look at the top purchase mortgage lenders in the Golden State, which grabbed about 73% of the market in 2024 as refis waned.
This list is a little bit different because some lenders specialize in home purchase financing, while others cater to existing homeowners looking to refinance.
Topping this list was UWM with $19.4 billion. They once again beat out Rocket Mortgage’s $10.8 billion, while U.S. Bank took third with $6.7 billion.
Wells Fargo claimed the fourth spot with $6.4 billion, while Chase snagged fifth with $5.5 billion.
Also in the top 10 were Bank of America, CrossCountry Mortgage, Citi, Lennar Mortgage, and BMO.
The only lender in this list that wasn’t in the main list was Lennar Mortgage, the captive lender for home builder Lennar, which replaced loanDepot,
Recently, home builder’s lenders have grabbed more market share as existing homes remain locked in due to high mortgage rates.
The past few years, lenders have focused on this segment of the market because mortgage rates remain inflated relative to recent lows.
Simply put, it’s difficult to drum up refinance business when many homeowners have fixed rates in the 2-4% range and the going rate is 6-7%.
Top California Mortgage Lenders (for Refinance Loans)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $9.0 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $5.0 billion |
| 3. | U.S. Bank | $3.0 billion |
| 4. | Bank of America | $1.8 billion |
| 5. | Chase | $1.7 billion |
| 6. | Wells Fargo | $1.1 billion |
| 7. | Pennymac | $1.0 billion |
| 8. | CrossCountry | $970 million |
| 9. | Citi | $905 million |
| 10. | Freedom Mortgage | $893 million |
Now let’s talk refis, which were all the rage in 2021, but have since fallen out of favor due to unprecedented increases in mortgage rates.
In this category, UWM once again ran away from the competition with a decent $9 billion in refinance loan origination volume in 2024.
Their crosstown rival Rocket came in a distant second with $5 billion in refi loan volume, though their pending Redfin acquisition and Mr. Cooper purchase might change that in a hurry.
Depository banks took spots three through six, which is impressive, followed by nonbanks Pennymac and CrossCountry.
The remainder of the top 10 included Citi and Freedom Mortgage, though volume for both was sub-$1 billion.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Los Angeles
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $5.1 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $3.6 billion |
| 3. | Chase | $2.0 billion |
| 4. | Citi | $1.8 billion |
| 5. | U.S. Bank | $1.8 billion |
| 6. | Bank of America | $1.4 billion |
| 7. | OCMBC | $1.3 billion |
| 8. | Wells Fargo | $1.1 billion |
| 9. | BMO | $957 million |
| 10. | Genesis Capital | $749 million |
Top Mortgage Lenders in San Diego
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $4.2 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $1.6 billion |
| 3. | U.S. Bank | $987 million |
| 4. | CrossCountry | $954 million |
| 5. | Chase | $740 million |
| 6. | Pennymac | $571 million |
| 7. | Bank of America | $458 million |
| 8. | Wells Fargo | $438 million |
| 9. | Guaranteed Rate | $396 million |
| 10. | Kiavi Funding | $376 million |
Top Mortgage Lenders in San Jose
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Wells Fargo | $2.3 billion |
| 2. | Bank of America | $1.8 billion |
| 3. | U.S. Bank | $1.6 billion |
| 4. | HSBC | $1.5 billion |
| 5. | BMO | $1.2 billion |
| 6. | Citi | $1.0 billion |
| 7. | Rocket Mortgage | $906 million |
| 8. | Chase | $845 million |
| 9. | UWM | $733 million |
| 10. | PNC Bank | $592 million |
Top Mortgage Lenders in San Francisco
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Wells Fargo | $1.2 billion |
| 2. | Bank of America | $899 million |
| 3. | Chase | $881 million |
| 4. | U.S. Bank | $659 million |
| 5. | Citi | $620 million |
| 6. | UWM | $608 million |
| 7. | HSBC | $517 million |
| 8. | Rocket Mortgage | $517 million |
| 9. | BMO | $458 million |
| 10. | Morgan Stanley | $365 million |
Does Size Matter When It Comes to Getting a Mortgage?
As I always ponder with these top lender lists, does size actually matter?
Does it mean anything that your bank or lender is massive and bigger than others?
While that might be up for debate, as some could argue that a big institution might be more reliable or efficient or even cheaper, the opposite could also be said.
Ultimately, it’s nice to know who the big players are, but your personality might be better suited to a local credit union or mom-and-pop mortgage broker.
The mortgage lender you choose doesn’t have to be the biggest out there to provide exceptional service and competitive pricing.
Conversely, you might find a household name that does offer all those things mentioned above.
At the end of the day, obtaining a home loan is a big deal and it should be shopped accordingly.
That means lots of research and multiple quotes before you make your final decision.
Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.