E*TRADE Group, Inc. is launching E*TRADE Mortgage following its Feb. 1, 2001 acquisition of LoansDirect, one of the largest online mortgage company’s in the U.S.

E*TRADE Mortgage is the latest advance in the company’s ongoing diversification strategy to integrate online mortgage origination with its Internet brokerage, value-added banking and other wealth management products and services.

The E*TRADE Mortgage origination platform offers a fully-automated 100% online application process, providing customers with added value such as rates and fees lower than the national U.S. average, rapid closings, instant rate locks and guaranteed closing costs.

As a direct mortgage lender, E*TRADE owns and controls the entire loan origination process from start to finish, providing customers with the benefit of real-time interactive access through all stages of the loan application and closing process. Ultimately, says the company, E*TRADE Mortgage will serve as the cornerstone for E*TRADE’s proposed lending section.