Is First Federal Bank An Expensive Mortgage Lender?

We compare mortgage interest rate and loan related closing costs at First Federal Bank with other lenders for mortgages with similar borrower characteristics:

Interest Rate: similar to average (-0.03%)
Loan Related Closing Costs: higher than average (+$444)
Assessment: this lender tends to be a average cost lender.

This scoreboard is based on data reported to FFIEC. In the data, First Federal Bank originated 6448 mortgages, a national market share of 0.1%. It was most active in GA (1.2% market share), SC (0.4% market share), and NC (0.2% market share).

On average, First Federal Bank’s interest rates were similar to those of comparable mortgages at other lenders (-0.03%).1The comparable mortgages control for First Federal Bank’s distribution of loan term (e.g. 30 year vs 15 year), loan-to-value (LTV), debt-to-income (DTI), loan amount, loan program (e.g. Conforming/FHA), loan purpose (e.g. purchase/refinance), and county. Interest rate and loan related closing costs are estimated based on fixed rate mortgages only, whereas market shares include all purchase or refinance mortgages. Its average total loan related closing cost was $6256, which was higher than those of comparable mortgages at $5812, with a difference of +$444. Overall, we estimate that First Federal Bank tends to be an average cost lender, with a cost-adjusted-rate difference of -0.00% compared to comparable mortgages at other lenders.2Cost adjusted rates were computed based on each percent of the loan amount in loan related closing costs being worth 1/6 of a percentage point in interest rate. Nevertheless, we recommend comparing your rate and fees with at least a few other lenders before signing with First Federal Bank.

First Federal Bank originated Conforming, FHA and VA mortgages for new home purchases. It also originated Conforming, FHA and VA mortgages for refinances. We breakdown its interest rate and total loan related closing cost on by each of the mortgage types it originated below:

Home Purchase Mortgages from First Federal Bank compared to other lenders

ConformingFHAVA
Interest Rate Difference-0.05%-0.20%-0.07%
Loan related Closing Cost Difference+$455+$206-$440
Cost Adjusted Rate Difference-0.02%-0.19%-0.11%

Based on the table above, First Federal Bank is cheap for FHA and VA purchase mortgages. It is similar to other lenders for Conforming purchase mortgages.

Mortgage Refinancing from First Federal Bank compared to other lenders

ConformingFHAVA
Interest Rate Difference-0.05%-0.07%+0.12%
Loan Related Closing Cost Difference+$815+$795+$486
Cost Adjusted Rate Difference+0.01%-0.03%+0.16%

Based on the table above, First Federal Bank is similar to other lenders for Conforming and FHA mortgage refinance. It is more expensive than other lenders for VA mortgage refinance.

Other information about First Federal Bank:

Regulator: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) 
Top holder: COASTAL BANKING COMPANY, INC.
Registered city and state: Lake City, FL, 32055

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footnotes

Footnotes
1The comparable mortgages control for First Federal Bank’s distribution of loan term (e.g. 30 year vs 15 year), loan-to-value (LTV), debt-to-income (DTI), loan amount, loan program (e.g. Conforming/FHA), loan purpose (e.g. purchase/refinance), and county. Interest rate and loan related closing costs are estimated based on fixed rate mortgages only, whereas market shares include all purchase or refinance mortgages.
2Cost adjusted rates were computed based on each percent of the loan amount in loan related closing costs being worth 1/6 of a percentage point in interest rate.