Survey Finds Mortgage Bankers and Government Institutions Not Trusted by Consumers

Mortgage bankers and government lending institutions were least trusted by consumers, with less than one in 10 survey respondents showing preference for these lender types. Ironically, a majority of banks and credit unions ultimately sell most, if not all, of their loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. However, most consumers are unaware of this, and tend to view whichever entity took their initial loan application as the actual lender--be it the bank, credit union, or government agency.

A telling statistic gauging sentiment was that slightly more than 20 percent of respondents selected "None of the Above" as an option when asked to choose which entity they preferred to deal with for a loan, be it banks, mortgage brokers or credit unions. As a result of the defaults and foreclosures, many affected borrowers saw their credit scores drop sharply.