Today there are very few areas where wholesale mortgage lenders can be seen unless it is a big city. It is not exactly clear when the ratio of wholesale lenders changed and mortgage brokers and lenders started competing against each other. So then, which one is the better institution to approach? Here are some salient points for both.

Bank and credit unions still possess a major market share when it comes to mortgage origination, yes. But another fact to be considered is also that there is a big share of market that is held by lending companies who work towards mortgage origination. When one looks at the competitors present in the market, one can see that there is a lot of money to be made. Most lending companies earned well before the economic slump, by providing mortgages to home owners or buyers, thereby earning interest, closing cost fees and other miscellaneous fees. Thus emerge two kinds. 1) Mortgage Banker and the 2) Mortgage Banker.

When one works in sync with a mortgage banker, one is dealing directly along with the bank. The bank is the one providing you with the loan. They are also called direct lenders. This is one of the popular terms to talk about mortgage bankers. He may or may not be the final institution that you pay your mortgage installments.

However the mortgage banker is the decision maker and only when he underwrites the loan and qualifies you for the loan do you get it. Most mortgage offer only certain types of loans, however they are associated closely with wholesale mortgage lenders and thus may still prove to be very helpful. Their underwriting decisions are normally based on the guidelines provided by FHA, VA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Most of them are associated to the Mortgage Bankers Association of The United States of America.

The mortgage broker on the other hand works exactly like the banker but their ways of working are different. The broker is not a lending company and thus has no control over rejection or approval of your mortgage loan application. However mortgage brokers act as a wholesale mortgage lenders and attract a lot of lenders so that they may be able to offer you the best deals possible for mortgage.

It won't be fair on them to say that they are simple middle men who help you find the right lender. Brokers don't work on retail market in general. There is a wholesale department in all lending companies who aim solely at providing service to the mortgage brokers when they send it their clients.

In conclusion, one can actually maintain that mortgage brokers work in sync with mortgage bankers who deal in wholesale mortgage as a lending company.