Eastern, Salem Five among top Bay State mortgage lenders

Massachusetts-based banks, Salem Five, Eastern Bank, Rockland Trust Co. and Boston Private Bank, in addition to the Digital Federal Credit Union, are gaining significant profits in the Bay State?s mortgage market this year even as the state?s top-ten lenders saw their profits drop.Each of the financial institutions rose to top-25 status in June 2008, according to data reported in Bank & Tradesman magazine, a publication of The Warren Group.As of June 2008, Salem Five Mortgage Corporation recorded $317.3 million in mortgage loans, the highest among the five Massachusetts lenders named in the report.The lenders also processed nearly 4 percent of the statewide mortgage market share this year, compared to 3 percent processed last year by the previous top-five community lenders.In 2007, only Eastern Bank achieved top-25 status in The Warren Group report.Steve MacQuarrie, the senior vice-president of corporate and government services for Eastern Bank, said people are clinging to community mortgage lenders because of the uncertainty gripping non-bank mortgage lenders on a national level.?The federal government?s ability to regulate banks can be seen as a safety net for some folks who are mortgage-eligible,” MacQuarrie said. “The success of community lenders can be pinpointed to the quality of services that is being offered.”Ed McDonald, president of Salem Five Mortgage Company, said more people will turn to community bank lenders because of the stability the institutions offer.?Over the last year the mortgage industry has changed significantly,” McDonald said. “We tend to see national lenders leaving the industry and this leads to an increased presence in the mortgage market for local lenders.?We at Salem Five are here to stay,” McDonald said. “Currently we are the largest provider of mortgage loans located in New England; we have been around since 1855 and we continue to serve people who are looking for a good, solid bank to invest in.”