Citadel expands Outside Dodd-Frank product

Citadel Servicing Corp. (CSC) is expanding its Outside Dodd-Frank product line to serve a wider range of borrowers.

“We added a 720 credit-score tier, which is improved pricing and rates by as much as a half point,” said Will Fisher, senior vice president and national sales and marketing director for CSC. “We had it capped at 700, and it has been that way for the last three years. Now we think it is time to be a little more expansive to higher credit score borrowers.”

Fisher said that despite the misconception in some quarters that non-QM loans are only for borrowers with problematic credit, the products are also the right fit for many high-credit, high-income borrowers.

“We have had many affluent borrowers originate loans with us,” he said. “To appeal to that segment, we have added this tier. Our guidelines for our Outside Dodd-Frank product are extremely user-friendly, so this should only bolster that appeal for borrowers and brokers.”

Fisher said the new tier fills a niche in the market that had been underserved since the financial crisis.

“So many programs went away in 2007 and 2008, and it left such a wide gap in the market – and not just for self-employed borrowers or borrowers with rough credit history,” he said. “It has even bled over into the rental property and investment space, and it has made it extremely tiresome for some applicants to qualify for a rental property under reasonable terms. What was left was hard money – shorter terms, higher rates, and prepayment penalties. With our Outside Dodd-Frank product, we have been able to completely disintermediate the sector.”

The ODF’s new 720 credit tier product features a maximum loan-to-value of 75% for purchase and 70% for refinance, with loan amounts up to $5 million.