JPMorgan Removes Lending Barriers in Booming U.S. Markets

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the nation’s largest bank by assets, is easing mortgage lending standards in housing markets hard hit by the crash where prices are surging.

The bank lowered some down payment requirements in Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan because they will “no longer be considered distressed states,” it informed smaller lenders it buys loans from in July. The second-largest U.S. mortgage lender also loosened underwriting requirements for a refinancing program for Federal Housing Administration borrowers.

As the economy rebounds and home values climb at about the fastest pace since 2006, lenders including the largest, Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp. (BAC), and mortgage insurers are easing the tightest credit conditions in two decades, lifting restrictions put in place after the worst real estate bust since the Great Depression. Banks are being forced to compete harder for customers after a spike in borrowing costs from near-record lows slowed refinancing by more than 70 percent and curbed what had been record profits.
“Historically, you make underwriting as tough as possible when people are lined up at the door and when the lines go away, you start loosening underwriting to get people back,” said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance.

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