Investment dictionary

WAREHOUSE LENDING

Warehouse Lending: translation

A line of credit extended by a financial institution to a loan originator to fund a mortgage that a borrower initially used to buy a property. The loan typically lasts from the time it is originated to when the loan is sold into the secondary market, whether directly or through a securitization.

Loan originators depend on the eventual sale of a loan to repay the warehouse lender; therefore, warehouse lenders closely monitor each loan's progression with the originator toward its eventual sale. To ensure the repayment of warehouse lines of credit, warehouse lenders typically require a small charge for each transaction as well as for when the originators post collateral.