Wholesale lender CitiMortgage recently sent a notification that the company will not offer jumbo mortgages through its broker origination channel. Jumbo mortgages typically fall above the $417,000 conforming loan limits. The company is not exiting jumbo lending completely, as it retains the jumbo option within its retail origination channel. “As we have recently stated, we are currently offering jumbos through our retail channel,” said Mark Rodgers, a New York-based CitiMortgage spokesman. “These offers are very attractively priced and are being offered to our highly credit-worthy customers, as we anticipate holding these loans on our balance sheet.” Rodgers added: “We continue to offer other loan production through a limited number of high quality brokers and value the relationships we have in that community.” CitiMortgage — the mortgage finance arm of Citigroup (C) — lowered its jumbo mortgage rates “for highly credit worthy borrowers.”As of May 3, Citi said it would offer 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgages at 5.625%. It will also offer five-year adjustable-rate mortgages at 4.875%. Recent jumbo rates regularly top 6%. Citi’s lowered jumbo rates arrived as the market for jumbo mortgage securitization is beginning to thaw. Redwood Trust (RWT) in April closed a $237.8m prime jumbo residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) — the first private-label deal in the US since 2008. Write to Diana Golobay. Disclosure: the author holds no relevant investments.