Mortgage bank
Encyclopedia
A Mortgage bank specializes in originating and/or servicing mortgage loan
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

s.

A mortgage bank is a state-licensed banking entity that makes mortgage loans directly to consumers
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...

. The difference between a mortgage banker and a mortgage broker
Mortgage broker
A mortgage broker acts as an intermediary whose brokers mortgage loans on behalf of individuals or businesses.Traditionally, banks and other lending institutions have sold their own products. However as markets for mortgages have become more competitive, the role of the mortgage broker has become...

 is that the mortgage banker funds loans with its own capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...

.

Generally, a mortgage bank originates a loan and places it on a pre-established warehouse line of credit
Warehouse Line of Credit
A warehouse line of credit is a credit line used by mortgage bankers. It is a short-term revolving credit facility extended by a financial institution to a mortgage loan originator for the funding of mortgage loans....

 until the loan can be sold to an investor such as Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac. The process of selling a loan from the mortgage bank to another investor is referred to as selling the loan on the secondary market
Secondary market
The page applies to the finanical term; For the merchandising concept, see Aftermarket .The secondary market, also called aftermarket, is the financial market where previously issued securities and financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold....

.

Mortgage banks frequently use the secondary market
Secondary market
The page applies to the finanical term; For the merchandising concept, see Aftermarket .The secondary market, also called aftermarket, is the financial market where previously issued securities and financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold....

 to sell loans because the funds received pay down their warehouse lines of credit which enables the mortgage bank to continue to lend. A mortgage bank is not regulated as a federal or state bank and does not take deposits from consumers or businesses. A mortgage bank raises some equity which it uses to guarantee the warehouse line and the bulk of the funds are provided by the warehouse lender.

A mortgage bank can vary in size. Some mortgage banking companies are nationwide. Some may originate a large loan volume exceeding that of a nationwide commercial bank
Commercial bank
After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...

. Many mortgage banks employ specialty servicers for tasks such as repurchase and fraud discovery work.

Their two primary sources of revenue are from loan origination fee
Origination fee
An origination fee, or activation fee, is a payment associated with the establishment of an account with a bank, broker or other company providing services handling the processing associated with taking out a loan....

s, and loan servicing
Loan servicing
Loan servicing is the process by which a mortgage bank or subservicing firm collects the timely payment of interest and principal from borrowers...

 fees (provided they are a loan servicer). Many Mortgage bankers are opting not to service the loans they originate. By selling them shortly after they are closed and funded, they are eligible for earning a service released premium. The secondary market
Secondary market
The page applies to the finanical term; For the merchandising concept, see Aftermarket .The secondary market, also called aftermarket, is the financial market where previously issued securities and financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold....

 investor that buys the loan will earn revenue for the servicing of the loan for each month the loan is kept by the borrower.

Unlike a federally chartered savings bank, a mortgage bank generally specializes only in making mortgage loans. They do not take deposits from customers. Their funds come primarily from the secondary wholesale market. Examples of the secondary market lenders most known are Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.

A company desiring to enter the mortgage business often chooses to be a mortgage banker vs. a mortgage broker primarily to earn yield spread premiums. Mortgage bankers risk their own capital to fund loans and therefore do not have to disclose the price at which they sell mortgage to another company. Mortgage brokers, on the other hand, earning the same yield spread premium disclose the additional fee to the consumer because the yield spread premium becomes an additional fee earned and therefore discloseable under federal and state law.

A mortgage bank generally operates under the different banking laws applicable to each state they do business in.

For a complete list of mortgage bankers by state, check with the state banking or financial department of each state individually. Whereas a federal bank may operate under federal law, a consumer may have additional rights under the applicable state banking law in terms of consumer protection.

Mortgage Bankers can be very competitive in mortgage lending as they specialize in only lending, and do not have to factor in subsidizing any losses in other departments such as traditional banking. At the same time they often do not have the same access to low cost adjustable rate mortgages which are typically associated with federal banks and access to federal money.

History

The market share for mortgage banks of single family mortgage loans went from 20% in 1980 to over 41% in 1991 during the Savings and Loan Crisis
Savings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK