Are Nonbank Loan Officers Making Double Their Bank Counterparts?

It appears the future is looking much brighter for the nonbank sector of residential finance. Thanks to Basel III and other draconian regulatory changes banks (going forward) are not likely to be the fierce competitors they once were. Wells Fargo, of course, will continue to dominate the business but that bank – let’s face it – is an aberration to the model. Two years ago some top ranked LO producers were accepting jobs at depositories because they felt ‘secure’ in working for a lender that had a future. But new LO compensation rules turned out to be more benign than many thought and there’s Basel III which is forcing some banks to scale back in residential finance and MSRs. One nonbank executive told us recently that some of his LOs earn twice what they might earn at a megabank. That’s not a misprint: twice.