How to compare mortgage lenders using public information

Start with facts you can check, not a marketing name alone.

• Legal or display name
• Institution type, such as bank, credit union, or mortgage company
• Published identifiers when a profile or official record shows them, such as an NMLS company ID, FDIC certificate, or NCUA charter

Search the published lender directory

Compare the documents the lender provides. This page does not display lender prices.

• Interest rate
• APR
• Points
• Lender credits
• Estimated closing costs
• Loan Estimate

The CFPB's comparison guidance is the field-level reference for written Loan Estimates. A lower note rate is not automatically a lower total cost.

CFPB — Compare Loan Estimates

A published USMI profile may add context next to the offer. Read the source date on the profile. Not every profile contains every category.

• HMDA activity where USMI has published a matched observation
• CFPB complaint context where a publication-authorized mapping exists
• Regulatory identifiers shown on the profile
• Branch or location information, using the location basis stated on the profile
• The public source dates printed with those fields

Complaint counts are not a misconduct score and not a way to pick a winner.

• Counts can reflect company size
• Counts can reflect servicing volume
• Counts can reflect which complaints the source covers

A higher or lower count is not a USMI rating.

• Lender directory
• How to verify a mortgage lender
• Sources
• Methodology
• What USMI is not

1. What legal name is on this offer, and which public identifiers can I check?
2. Is this interest rate locked, and if so, until when?
3. What APR, points, lender credits, and estimated cash to close are on the Loan Estimate?
4. Which charges are the lender's charges, and which are estimates for taxes, insurance, or escrow?
5. Who is expected to service the loan after closing?
6. Where is the written process if I later need to raise an error?

USMI does not score these answers, name a winner, or recommend a lender.

• USMI does not rank, tier, or recommend lenders.
• Historic HMDA activity is not today's interest rate.
• An unpublished field is not evidence that the institution lacks that record.
• Verify consequential figures on the lender's own Loan Estimate and at the official source.

• CFPB — Compare Loan Estimates
• CFPB — Loan Estimate explainer
• FFIEC/CFPB HMDA data publication
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database
• USMI sources
• USMI methodology