GFI's Mortgage Banking Division: leading the industry through innovative lending.

In 1980, GFI Mortgage Bankers, Inc. began funding local residential mortgages in Brooklyn. By working closely with residents and businesses in neighborhoods throughout the city, the company quickly grew into a multi-faceted real estate service operation with divisions in commercial real estate lending, property management, commercial brokerage, and insurance brokerage.

Now based in Manhattan, GFI serves institutional, commercial and residential clients nationwide. However, the company continues to maintain a strong focus in lending, counted among the leaders in the mortgage banking industry with innovative products and services.

GFI Mortgage Bankers Executive Vice President Abe Eisner heads the residential division, whose processing and underwriting staff funds loans for one- to four-family homes, co-ops, and condominiums. Specialists also work closely with corporations involved in relocation, assisting their employees with every step of the lending process.

Auction financing is one of GFI Mortgage Bankers' unique niches. With a tightly organized approach, an on-site financing team and the availability of in-house legal services, GFI enables customers to walk away with a commitment. In addition to conforming products, GFI sells loans to private investors to meet customers' needs with non-traditional product lines.

Recently, GFI has expanded its lending to A and B quality borrowers to include higher-risk B and C borrowers. Since 1995, GFI's sub-prime lending has increased dramatically, from 10 to 25 percent of business. Eisner said this effort is the result of several factors, including the realization that B- and C-rated customers represented $95 billion in loans in 1996, a jump of nearly 50 percent in one year.

GFI, a licensed mortgage banker, specializes in loans to first-time home buyers and to those with only a small percentage of a down payment. The company provides loans of up to 95 percent of the purchase price for borrowers with good credit.

GFI also provides what is known as "no doc" (no documents needed) mortgages to borrowers. GFI requires only a name, address and social security number.

Eisner said the push by lenders into this market has helped fuel a trend toward increased home-ownership and rejuvenation of many distressed urban areas. Recent Census Bureau data shows that the number of people living in a home they own is up significantly to 65.4 percent of all Americans.

"We have opened a new market, while also offering service to customers who never thought of buying a home," Eisner said. "People who previously were reluctant to provide information on income, assets and tax returns are now becoming homeowners."

GFI's mortgage banking division is one of the largest in the New York area, while overall GFI is one of the nation's fastest growing financial and real estate service firms. With offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida this trend is likely to continue.