Mortgage Originator

See: Mortgage.

The originator is the bank that loans the money in the first place. They create the paperwork and the legal compliance and disclosure things and all the collateral material around making that loan so things are all nice and legal. When it falls apart, the bank gets sued, and journalists fill the headlines with stories of how bad it was that Big Evil Bank loaned money to Billy Bob, even though Billy Bob signed all the paperwork, swearing and promising to pay back every cent.

The mortgage originator is the backstop, the last word, the Genesis in making the loan. And no, not the one with Phil Collins.