ABSTRACT

This article examines mortgage broker pricing in New York during the years leading up to the financial crisis. Broker compensation practices in 2005 through 2007, primarily the use of yield spread premiums (YSPs), led the Federal Reserve to promulgate new rules in 2011 that disallowed loan originators who receive compensation directly from the consumer from also receiving compensation from the lender or another party. This consumer testing rule passed because the board found that consumers were not aware of the payments lenders make to originators and how those payments can affect the consumer’s total loan cost. Focusing on total costs paid by the borrower, we find that minority borrowers paid more in total fees as a percentage of the loan amount when including or excluding YSPs. Moreover, white borrowers were more successful in substituting YSPs for up-front cash fees, resulting in a reduction in total loan fees compared with minority borrowers. This may reflect information advantages for white borrowers that allow them to more accurately assess the total cost of loans.

摘要

本文考察了金融危机前几年纽约的抵押贷款经纪人定价。2005 年至 2007 年的经纪人补偿做法，主要是使用收益率差溢价 (YSP)，导致美联储在 2011 年颁布了新规则，禁止直接从消费者那里获得补偿的贷款发起人也从贷方或另一方获得补偿. 该消费者测试规则通过了，因为委员会发现消费者不知道贷方向发起人支付的款项以及这些款项如何影响消费者的总贷款成本。关注借款人支付的总成本，我们发现在包括或不包括 YSP 时，少数借款人支付的总费用占贷款金额的百分比更高。而且，与少数借款人相比，白人借款人更成功地用 YSP 代替预付现金费用，从而减少了总贷款费用。这可能反映了白人借款人的信息优势，使他们能够更准确地评估贷款的总成本。