JPMorgan, Citigroup Expand in ‘Jumbo’ Loans for Expensive Homes

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are expanding in “jumbo” mortgages used to buy the most expensive homes, helping revive a market that shriveled amid a three-year jump in homeowner defaults.

JPMorgan resumed buying new jumbo loans made by other lenders this month, after halting purchases in March, spokesman Tom Kelly said. Borrowers must have checking accounts with the bank, he said. Citigroup is again offering the loans through independent mortgage brokers, spokesman Mark Rodgers said.

The two New York-based banks are signaling new interest in a market hobbled since 2007, when record-breaking defaults on home loans caused investors to flee securities backed by mortgages. With the recession sapping demand for new consumer and corporate loans, lenders are competing harder for creditworthy customers, said Harry Davis, banking professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

“They have surely across the board raised lending standards, and there aren’t a lot of good borrowers standing in the lobby,” Davis said in an interview.

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