Loan production was up sharply in the wholesale mortgage business late last year, despite the high-profile retreat from the sector by some major lenders. A new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis reveals that wholesale production jumped 22.4 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of last year, posting a bigger gain than the 17.0 percent increase in retail originations. While the broker channel saw the biggest increase – a hefty 48.5 percent jump that raised its market share back to double digits – the correspondent business also posted a solid 14.9 percent gain in volume. Despite the fourth...