A company engaged in the business of originating and/or funding mortgages for residential or commercial property. A mortgage company is often just the originator of a mortgage; they market themselves to potential borrowers and seek funding from one of several client financial institutions that provide the capital for the mortgage itself. 

|||Many mortgage companies went bankrupt during the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008. Because they weren’t funding most of the loans, they had few company assets, and when the housing markets dried up, their cash flows quickly evaporated. Some mortgage companies do offer turnkey mortgage services, including the origination, funding and servicing of mortgages. The factors that differentiate one mortgage company from another include relationships with funding banks, products offered and internal underwriting standards.