Mortgage brokers scramble for survival

... the housing crisis has triggered a huge shift in the industry's dynamics. Big banks, such as Bank of America Corp. and National City Corp., have stopped making loans through brokers entirely, relying instead on their loan officers. National City said it was forced to do so by a continuing downturn in loan demand, while Bank of America said it saw better "long-term opportunity" in working through its own loan officers.

Brokers' share of new mortgages rose to 60 percent in the past 10 years from a 20 percent market share in the late 1980s, according to Wholesale Access, a Columbia, Md., consulting firm.

This year, the brokers' market share is likely to slide to around 40 percent as banks move toward making more loans directly, said Tom LaMalfa, managing director at Wholesale Access.