Sterling’s mortgage unit breaks $1 billion - 2004-02-13
Action Mortgage Co., a subsidiary of Spokane-based Sterling Savings Bank, passed $1 billion in total lending volume last year, the first time in the 15-year-old company’s history it broked that mark.

Action made residential mortgages and home-construction loans totaling $1.01 billion in 2003, up about 18 percent from its 2002 volume, says Ron Jarvis, the mortgage company’s vice president. Action handles all of Sterling’s residential mortgage lending.
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Real estate lending here grew substantially in ’03 - 2004-02-13
Last year, real estate-backed loans in Spokane County increased by 24.1 percent, to $5.38 billion from $4.19 billion in 2002, says RMS Information Services, of Kaysville, Utah, which gathers such data.

Throughout 2003, lenders reported that the lowest mortgage rates in decades were driving a crush of residential mortgage refinancings and providing powerful incentives for people to buy new homes and sell their old homes, fueling mortgage lending even more.
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