Banks Take High From Homeowners and Sell Low to Investors
Record low interest rates on mortgages and refinancing deals are reducing costs to homeowners. But banks are making unusually high profits by selling bundles of those loans to investors at similarly low rates, which means borrowers could be saving even more.
Record low interest rates on mortgages and refinancing deals are reducing costs to homeowners. But banks are making unusually high profits by selling bundles of those loans to investors at similarly low rates, which means borrowers could be saving even more.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…DealBook at The New York Times:
Banks are making unusually large gains on mortgages because they are taking profits far higher than the historical norm, analysts say. That 3.55 percent rate for a 30-year mortgage could be closer to 3.05 percent if banks were satisfied with the profit margins of just a few years ago. The lower rate would save a borrower about $30,000 in interest payments over the life of a $300,000 mortgage.
“The banks may say, ‘We are offering you record low interest rates, so you should be as happy as a clam,’ ” said Guy D. Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, a home loan publication. “But borrowers could be getting them cheaper.”
… The jump in revenue for the banks is not coming from charging consumers higher fees. Instead, it comes from the their role as middlemen. Banks make their money from taking the mortgages and bundling them into bonds that they then sell to investors, like pensions and mutual funds. The higher the mortgage rate paid by homeowners and the lower the interest paid on the bonds, the bigger the profit for the bank.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Economic Justice
Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) have joined forces in a rare bipartisan effort to make top executives pay for their mistakes.
Lessons learned from the 2008 financial crisis show that taxpayer-funded blank checks to institutions do nothing to help those struggling
Because our banks aren't nationalized, its inability to work with Congress has resulted in another botched attempt at crisis management.
Its forced choice to bankroll hedge funds and other speculative ventures in repo market comes at a price to the middle class.
The Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential contender wants to make it harder for big banks to prey on consumers.
The threat of a U.S. technology company taking up the model set by China's WeChat Pay and Alipay may now be materializing.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.