The new lending guidelines are in 2 phases:
1) first phase applies to federally regulated lenders (i.e. depository institutions), and those were released about 1-2 weeks ago. Ex: Citibank, Wells Fargo
2) second phase applies to state regulated lenders, and should be released within the next month. ex: Countrywide, Option One,
Until phase 2 is completed, borrowers will go to state regulated brokers for loans, so you are *not* going to see any effect at all, until they are released.
It is only AFTER the state regulated lender guidelines are released, that the impact of these guidelines will be felt.
You are not seeing any impact now, because borrowers are going to Countrywide to get what they can no longer get from Citibank. Believe me, the depository institutions are anxious to level the playing field, so there is lots of pressure to get these guidelines out. The lady in charge of these guidelines said they would be released “very soon”. Only AFTER they are released will you see the impact. I hope I explained it better this time.
