MANCHESTER— New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s Director of Home Ownership Programs, Elizabeth Lamoureux, announced recently that for the month of October the Mortgage Center at St. Mary’s Bank ranked third among the forty-nine lenders who serve first-time home buyers in New Hampshire through New Hampshire Housing. The ranking is based upon the number of loans that a lender has provided to first-time home buyers in a given month. St. Mary’s Bank is typically included in the top ten but moved to its highest ranking ever in October at number three.

The forty-nine lenders who serve customers through New Hampshire Housing compete to be among the top ten in the Authority’s annual ranking. “To be among the top ten,” says Lamoureux, “means that these lenders are really taking the extra time with borrowers to help them settle into a loan and a home that they can safely afford. Besides the extra time,” she says, “this requires people with a huge heart.”

St. Mary’s Mortgage Center has typically ranked within or very near the top ten for the past several years. Of the Mortgage Center’s significant jump in the rankings in October, Lamoureux observes, “To be number three really reflects a strong commitment to affordable housing and to doing right by people. St. Mary’s is a fantastic lender who has been helping New Hampshire home buyers for a many years.”