St Casimirs Mortgage Minute

Small Lenders Ride U.S. Mortgage Wave as Big Banks Cut Back

Big banks retrenching and cutting back on mortgage lending after the financial crisis have created an opportunity for smaller firms and community banks such as Guaranteed Rate, an independent mortgage lender. The advent of smaller banks is beneficial for customers, and several smaller lenders say reduced costs, low interest rates, and faster processing times permit them to price more aggressively than the larger banks. Small lenders also are leveraging federal guarantees to make home loans geared toward borrowers with low incomes to a greater degree than the big banks.

From "Small Lenders Ride U.S. Mortgage Wave as Big Banks Cut Back"
Reuters (02/04/13) Sussman, Anna Louie


--BAI