Pursuits
Mortgage M&A Looms as Soaring Costs Pinch Nonbank Lenders
- Regulatory changes boost home-loan expenses 18% in two years
- Business `too capital intensive' for small firms to grow
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The mortgage upstarts that transformed the industry after the U.S. housing crash are now facing their own shakeout.
Soaring expenses are squeezing profits for nonbank lenders, which have grown to almost half of the mortgage market, as new rules and stepped-up regulatory scrutiny slice into already-thin margins. The average cost to originate a home loan jumped by 18 percent in the past two years, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.