What is Whole Loan Trading?
Whole loan trading is the secondary market activity of buying and selling individual loans or portfolios of loans between financial institutions. Unlike securitized bonds (MBS, ABS), whole loans are traded as individual assets or pools without being packaged into securities. Trades can be flow (ongoing, committed volume), bulk (one-time portfolio sales), or scratch-and-dent (non-performing or impaired loans). The whole loan market encompasses residential mortgages, consumer loans, commercial/CRE loans, SBA loans, and government-guaranteed loans. Pricing is typically quoted as a percentage of par (e.g., 101.25 = $101.25 per $100 of face value).
How LoanBook Uses Whole Loan Trading
LoanBook provides end-to-end whole loan trading workflow: portfolio analytics and pricing, CRM for counterparty management, a trade blotter connected through canonical transaction source links, due diligence workflow with settlement milestones, and standard trade document management. The platform supports all four sectors and integrates analytics directly into the trading process.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are whole loans priced?
Whole loans are priced as a percentage of outstanding principal balance (par). Pricing depends on the spread (BEY or OAS) relative to benchmark rates, credit quality (FICO, LTV, CDR), prepayment expectations (CPR, WAL), and market supply/demand. Premium loans trade above par (>100), discount loans below par (<100).
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See Whole Loan Trading in Action
LoanBook calculates whole loan trading and 50+ other analytics automatically for your loan portfolios.