Union Bank, San Francisco, this week rolled out a 30-year, fixed rate jumbo loan, adding to its arsenal of portfolio products. The mortgage will be offered through both its retail branches and outside loan brokers that work for the company.
"We'll hold the loan in portfolio," said Union Bank executive vice president of consumer lending, Jim Francis.
Prior to the launch of the new loan, which came Monday, Union's premier jumbo product was a five-year interest-only mortgage that had a conversion option.
Union, which is owned by a Japanese bank, will make 30-year jumbo FRMs with LTVs of up to 80%. Its maximum loan amount is $5 million. Most of its production comes from the West Coast.
A handful of conduits are trying to breathe life into the jumbo MBS market, but with little luck. Most of the nation's active jumbo lenders – including Union Bank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others – prefer to keep these high FICO score loans on their books instead of selling them into the secondary market for securitization.
