Astoria Federal Savings, a Northeast bank with $18.9 billion of assets, will start up an advertising push to “beef up our jumbo mortgages in the retail area.” The new advertising campaign should start in the fourth quarter, according to company officials.
The bank is trying to stem the shrinkage in its balance sheet. Assets at the bank have declined $1.3 billion year to date.
A jumbo mortgage is a relatively low-risk asset in the Northeast, where housing prices have not declined on par with, say, Nevada.
Astoria operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia.