JPMorgan Chase is selling its rural housing business to Freedom Mortgage effective July 1.

As it stands, the loans backed by the Department of Agriculture make up less than 5% of Chase’s home loan business.

USDA loans occupy a very small share of the origination market, with the latest mortgage application report from the Mortgage Bankers Association reporting that the USDA’s share of total applications was only 0.9%.

“This decision aligns with our overall strategy to simplify our mortgage business.  We will continue our strong partnership with the USDA to service our existing customers,” said Elizabeth Seymour, a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase.

"Chase has a proven team of experts who thoroughly understand the unique requirements of rural housing customers. We look forward to further developing Freedom Mortgage's presence in this essential market through our national network of correspondents,” said Stanley Middleman, Freedom Mortgage CEO. 

“Over the next several months we will work very closely with Chase to ensure a smooth transition that keeps service levels high and funds flowing to the borrowers who need it," Middleman said.  

On a separate origination note, JPMorgan has managed to navigate recent industry changes, recently weighing in on the implementation of TRID during its fourth-quarter conference call, saying TRID did little to impact its bottom line.

JPMorgan’s fourth-quarter mortgage banking net income fell 21% to $266 million, while net revenue declined 10% to $1.7 billion.