While I don't disagree with your sentiment, I think WF would have done the refi if it met their criteria. The reason: they make a lot of money on new loans (refi or otherwise) due to the loan origination fee. In my case the fee was going to be about $1,500 for a ~$90,000 loan. Since mortgage originators usually process the payments, I assume they get some compensation for ongoing loans. However, my understanding is most mortgage originators don't "hold" the loans. They sell them off, so to speak, to be used as a part of an investment product (e.g. a CDO). Funny thing is, you might invest in a small part of your own home loan via a mutual fund (or pension fund). How screwed up is that! That's the real rotten thing about the industry. No skin in the game.