A New Bank Order
Los Angeles Business Journal
By Richard Clough
...The mortgage industry shakeout that followed the housing bust has dramatically reshapes L.A.'s lending community, once one of the country's hotspots for independent nonbank lenders...
..."There are lots of companies that have gone out of business in the last couple of years. One of the things that there's a lot of worry about now is that there will be a small number of lenders going forward and that they will have market power," said Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. "I think we could see a very concentrated lending industry."...
...Due to the historically low affordability of area homes, Southern California has long held a reputation as a center for new and exotic loan products to help buyers get into properties.
"One thing about California is it's always been innovative, not always to its advantage," Said Green, of the Lusk Center for Real Estate.
With so many local lenders disappearing, though, the area may not emerge as a major mortgage center when the market recovers. "It may be that California doesn't have its lending role anymore and really that's not such a bad thing," he said...