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B3-4.1-03, Lender Incentives (05/07/2025)

Introduction
This topic contains information on lender incentives provided to a borrower either directly or through a third-party.

Lender Incentives

The lender may provide the borrower, either directly or through a third-party, with an incentive such as cash, a cash-like gift (for example, a gift card), or other item of value that is not a lender credit toward the loan transaction. The incentive may be offered on all transactions as part of a promotion or lender program, provided that

  • the incentive is not sourced from the transaction (for example, premium pricing),
  • the borrower qualifies without consideration of the incentive (for example, the incentive cannot be considered borrower assets, used to reduce the payment on an outstanding credit card account, or included in maximum cash back to borrower at closing calculation),
  • the amount of the incentive does not exceed $2,500, and
  • no repayment is required.

When the lender is, or is affiliated with, an interested party to the transaction, the incentive must be treated as a sales concession.

Note: If the lender is providing a credit toward the borrower's closing costs and/or prepaid items, those funds are considered a lender contribution (not a lender incentive). See B3-4.3-06, Grants and Lender ContributionsB3-4.3-06, Grants and Lender Contributions, for information about lender contributions.


Recent Related Announcements

The table below provides references to recently issued Announcements that are related to this topic.

AnnouncementsIssue Date
Announcement SEL-2025-03 May 07, 2025
Announcement SEL-2024-04 June 5, 2024
Announcement SEL-2020-07December 16, 2020