How we lend · 4 min read
What is the difference between a mortgage banker and a mortgage broker?
June 26, 2026 · Written by Bill Egan, NMLS 7342
Short answer
A mortgage banker takes your application, underwrites the file, and funds the loan. A mortgage broker shops your file to other lenders and does not fund it. Egan Financial Group LLC is a banker, so you are working with the company that actually makes the loan — not a middle layer sending your paperwork somewhere else.
01
Why this comes up
Two people both said they could get you a mortgage, and the numbers did not match. You reached out because you do not know who is actually writing the check at closing, and you do not want to find out the week you are supposed to get the keys.
02
Where this goes wrong
It blows up when the listing agent calls for a status and the person who quoted you cannot fund the loan. Offers get weaker. Locks expire while the file is shopped to a third company. At the table, you find out the “lender” was a middleman and the actual funder has a new condition.
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What we do about it
We are the lender. Egan Financial Group LLC takes the application, underwrites the file, and funds the loan. You are not handed off to a wholesale desk you have never spoken to. If the story on the quote does not match the file, you talk to the person who has to fund it.
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How to get ready
Look up the company and the loan officer on NMLS Consumer Access before you send a pay stub. Ask one question in writing: who funds this loan in their own name? Save that answer with the quote. If they will not show an NMLS number, stop.