Can I pay differently for banker and broker loans?
The answer is, "It depends."
Assuming that the loans you broker are niche products only used in the event there is not banked product available, then yes, you could have a different compensation structure than funded loans.
You would clearly need written policies protecting borrowers from steering into brokered loans and ensuring that self-funded loan scenarios did not compete with brokered scenarios. If a banker wants to broker all Federal Housing Administration loans and self-fund conventional products, one could see the obvious competition and potential that brokering could be used as a proxy for loan terms.
When determining whether it is permissible to compensate differently between self-funded and brokered loans, the issue is whether the distinction creates a proxy for loan terms or the ability to steer borrowers between brokered and banked loan terms under the circumstances.
Overshadowing all of this is the reality that q
Companies may want to strongly consider avoiding distinctions that could create regulatory interest in their operations, especially when one considers the relatively insignificant extent to which brokering will contribute overall to a mortgage bank’s operations.
