Origin Bank in Addison, Texas, has begun offering warehouse financing for electronic mortgages.
E-warehouse financing became available exclusively for loans sold to Fannie Mae on Jan. 1. Origin partnered with the government-sponsored enterprise and technology vendor eOriginal in developing its e-warehouse program.
"We appreciate the partnership with early warehouse lending adopters who are focused on meeting the needs of their customers," said Jennifer Parker, Fannie Mae's e-mortgage manager, in a news release.
"The warehouse lending community has been slower to adopt e-mortgages, but organizations like Origin realize their lender partners demand it for both the competitive advantages and the operational efficiencies that electronic processes provide."
Origin first identified the opportunity available in offering e-warehouse financing a year ago and has worked toward making it available since then, according to Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the company's warehouse lending group.
"We have always focused our competitive differentiation on knowledge of and experience with mortgage banking," Johnson said. "Mortgage warehouse financing of e-mortgages is an emerging significant need for our industry, and it will grow rapidly. We are pleased that we can be on the leading edge of fulfilling this need."
The e-warehouse financing business, to an extent, is a work in progress as Origin develops its capabilities. For instance, Origin is still in the discovery phase of pricing its e-warehouse financing. The shorter timeline presents a challenge, and Origin also aims to price its offering competitively with other e-warehouse lenders.
"There is no doubt that the pricing model is different," Johnson said. "We view this as less of a financing and more of a technology and transactional endeavor, and will price it accordingly."
