The loan product vanished after the financial meltdown. Now, one mortgage company is dipping a toe back in the water
No-income, no-asset, no-job loans were widely vilified in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Called NINJA loans, these products were roundly blasted as irresponsible, and blamed for helping to kickstart the housing crisis. After the meltdown, NINJA loans disappeared from the mortgage ecosystem.
Now a mortgage banker is introducing a modified form of that much-reviled loan. 360 Mortgage Group has launched a pilot program for its Agency NINA (no income, no assets) loan product. The Agency NINA allows for loan-to-value ratios up to 80% and FICO scores as low as 620. It also doesn’t require borrowers to prove their income or assets.
The initial phase of the program is designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. 360 Mortgage has received approval to issue up to $1 billion in new loan production under the pilot program. Once that mark is reached, the company will evaluate the program’s performance to see if additional occupancy types should be permitted.
“We are excited to be the first lender in the marketplace to offer this unique product,” said Andrew WeissMalik, 360 Mortgage Group COO. “It isn’t some non-QM bank-statement program you see every other lender out there offering. Rather, a no income, no asset commonsense FICO and LTV-based solution for those that are willing and capable of making timely payments but don’t fit within the highly regulated, ultra-conservative guidelines every other lender offers.”
360 Mortgage said that it was confident the pilot program would “provide a better solution for a large segment of the market, that shows no signs of slowing down.
