Wells Fargo Topples Bank of America to Become Largest U.S. Mortgage Servicer

The Bank of America is no longer the nation's biggest mortgage servicer in the U.S., according to the latest report.

Wells Fargo, the fourth-biggest U.S. bank, is now the biggest mortgage servicer in the country, according to IMF, with $1.82 trillion in business, or 17.7 percent of the total market, compared with Bank of America's $1.77 trillion or 17.2 percent.

Earlier, the Bank of America had lost its title as biggest bank in the U.S. when its reported assets fell to $2.22 trillion, below JPMorgan Chase's $2.29 trillion. The Bank of America has been badly affected by loan losses and lawsuits since buying Countrywide, once the nation's biggest subprime lender.

In 2008, Countrywide, which was on the verge of bankruptcy following the collapse of subprime lending market, was bought by the Bank of America. By this acquisition, the Bank of America was able to become the biggest home lender. However, delinquent loans and lawsuits relating to mortgage-backed securities have resulted in it steadily losing the market share.

There was more bad news for the Bank of America. In another report, Wells Fargo jumped ahead of the Bank of America for the second spot on Brand Finance's Banking 500, a list of the best global banking brands in 2012, which was released Feb. 1.

According to the report, HSBC was ranked the world's most valuable bank brand ($27.6 billion). Wells Fargo's brand value was estimated to be $23.23 billion. The Bank of America tumbled to number three in 2012's ranking, with a brand value of $22.9 billion.