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Underwriter vs mortgage banker

The differences between underwriters and mortgage bankers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an underwriter has an average salary of $61,751, which is higher than the $27,331 average annual salary of a mortgage banker.

The top three skills for an underwriter include customer service, investor guidelines and mortgage loans. The most important skills for a mortgage banker are customer service, NMLS, and federal regulations.

Underwriter vs mortgage banker overview

UnderwriterMortgage Banker
Yearly salary$61,751$27,331
Hourly rate$29.69$13.14
Growth rate-4%4%
Number of jobs8,51024,297
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4445
Years of experience-6

What does an underwriter do?

An underwriter's duties depend on the line of work or industry involved, such as mortgage companies, insurance, or lending firms. However, an Underwriter's responsibility will mainly revolve around using their extensive expertise on how a company will achieve financial gains, and assessing the possible financial risks of a client by reviewing various aspects to determine their capacity to uphold monetary obligations. Most of the time, the Underwriter's tasks will also involve evaluating a client's credit history, health, assets, overall financial history.

What does a mortgage banker do?

A Mortgage Banker is specialized in offering financing to buy homes or refinance previous mortgages. They work as part of a banks loan department.

Underwriter vs mortgage banker salary

Underwriters and mortgage bankers have different pay scales, as shown below.

UnderwriterMortgage Banker
Average salary$61,751$27,331
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $96,000Between $9,000 And $78,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MA-
Highest paying stateMassachusetts-
Best paying companyGoogle-
Best paying industryManufacturing-

Differences between underwriter and mortgage banker education

There are a few differences between an underwriter and a mortgage banker in terms of educational background:

UnderwriterMortgage Banker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Underwriter vs mortgage banker demographics

Here are the differences between underwriters' and mortgage bankers' demographics:

UnderwriterMortgage Banker
Average age4445
Gender ratioMale, 38.4% Female, 61.6%Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage9%8%

Differences between underwriter and mortgage banker duties and responsibilities

Underwriter example responsibilities.

  • Attain Jr. underwriter status and AUS underwriting authority.
  • Manage AUS findings and analyze approvals and results accordingly.
  • Complete initial review of appraisals, borrower credit documents, and DU/LP findings according to Fannie Mae and investor guidelines.
  • Research and develop SBA program.
  • Work on project putting together HPR policy.
  • Resolve issues preventing final disposition of REO properties.
  • Show more

Mortgage banker example responsibilities.

  • Coach new Jr. HMC's, lead team Jr. meetings and activities.
  • Establish residential and commercial lending relationships, telephone loan origination of conventional and non-conventional mortgage products to include VA/FHA options.
  • Register with NMLS to sell mortgage products
  • Initiate the stabilization of client relationships and leverage cross-selling and promotional opportunities.
  • Gain valuable knowledge about USDA loans
  • Specialize in 203K and FNMA HomePath.
  • Show more

Underwriter vs mortgage banker skills

Common underwriter skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Investor Guidelines, 6%
  • Mortgage Loans, 5%
  • Underwriting Guidelines, 5%
  • Financial Statements, 4%
  • FHA, 3%
Common mortgage banker skills
  • Customer Service, 24%
  • NMLS, 6%
  • Federal Regulations, 5%
  • Bank Products, 5%
  • Loan Programs, 5%
  • Origination, 4%

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