@Revelate wrote:
Can you summarize please for those of us who aren't WSJ subscribers? Couldn't find the article elsewhere.
^^^^
My summary of what the article said is:
The nation’s largest bank by assets plans to announce Wednesday that it is lowering the minimum credit score and down payment it requires for mortgages as big as $3 million.
For jumbo mortgages, J.P. Morgan plans to lower the minimum FICO credit scores it requires to 680 from 740 for loans on primary single-family purchases, second homes and certain refinances on those properties.
The New York firm’s moves follow similar steps at Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and other banks on requirements for “jumbo” mortgages—those that exceed $417,000 in most parts of the country or $625,500 in pricier markets.
The bank is allowing a 15% down payment for loans up to $3 million, compared with Bank of America and PNC Financial Services Group Inc., which permit a 15% down payment for jumbo loans of up to $1 million and $1.5 million, respectively.
J.P. Morgan’s changes, which go into effect Wednesday, will reduce minimum down payments for some borrowers to 15% of the purchase price for single-family homes serving as the borrower’s primary residence, down from 20% currently. That change applies to mortgages between $1.5 million and $3 million; the bank last year made the same change for jumbo mortgages up to $1.5 million.
The bank also is lowering down-payment thresholds for jumbo mortgages used for second homes, such as vacation homes, and certain two- to four-unit properties. The bank says the changes simplify its offerings.
Several large banks have recently lowered their jumbo-mortgage requirements. Wells Fargo last year cut the minimum down payment it requires to 10.1% from 15% for jumbo mortgages of up to $1 million.
In June, Bank of America began allowing first-time home buyers, which it defines as people who haven’t owned a home for at least three years, to make 15% down payments for jumbo mortgages of up to $1 million. The bank previously excluded this group of buyers from its 15% down-payment option, which it rolled out in 2013.
PNC in May switched to 15% minimum down payments for all eligible borrowers for jumbo loans of up to $1.5 million, down from 20% previously. Last year, it lowered the minimum required FICO score to 700 from 720.
