Obama Got Discount on Home Loan
By Joe StephensWa****ngton Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 2, 2008; Page A03
Excerpts:
"Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in
income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion
in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he
secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.
The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an
interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage,
below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was
unusually large, known in banker lingo as a "super super jumbo." Obama
paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to
reduce their interest rates.....
Driving the recent debate is concern that public officials, knowingly
or unknowingly, may receive special treatment from lenders and that
the discounts could constitute gifts that are prohibited by law....."
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