A mortgage banker is an individual or organization that lends capital to borrowers in the form mortgage loans. The term mortgage banker is often confused with the term mortgage broker. Unlike a mortgage banker, the mortgage broker acts only as an intermediary between borrower and lender, never lending funds of its own. A mortgage banker can act as a mortgage broker by originating a loan funded by another mortgage banker. Because a mortgage banker typically has bank charter, it is more heavily regulated than a mortgage broker. In the US, because of the potential conflict of interest the mortgage banker, like every US bank, is prohibited from brokering the purchase and sale of real estate. When a mortgage banker originates a loan, it can either keep the loan on its balance sheet by servicing the loan itself, or it can reassign the mortgage by selling it on the secondary mortgage market. |
