Mortgage banking remained profitable for the vast majority of banks and thrifts that are in the business, but earnings declined sharply in early 2017 and more institutions quit the market, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call reports. The industry reported a combined $3.562 billion in mortgage-banking income for the first quarter of this year, down 35.0 percent from the previous three-month period. The upside was that first-quarter profits ... [Includes one data chart]