Lenders

The easiest way I can put it is that direct lenders fund the loan directly. Indirect lenders (mortgage brokers) use another lender/bank to fund the loan. So with mortgage brokers, since they're brokering the loan, the bank funding the loan would be another bank like BofA, Chase, etc. There are also mortgage bankers/correspondent lenders who fund the loan directly but use a line of funds they have with another lender/bank. ABC mortgage may be able to fund the loan under their own name (which is why they say they're direct lenders) but usually the underlying lender is different. Later it usually gets revealed. Although that shouldn't matter much when getting a mortgage. There's more to it but that's the basics. So really, there are 3 types of lenders out there. Not much difference when you're comparing loan programs, rates, and costs. sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com