The top three mortgage lenders in the booming U.S. housing market posted an impressive $1.79 billion in income from their mortgage banking operations during the second quarter of 2003, according to a new Inside Mortgage Profitability analysis. As a group, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Washington Mutual and Countrywide Financial reported a 9.3 percent increase in mortgage banking income from the $1.64 billion they posted during the first quarter. Through the first half of 2003,