A shopper pushes a cart outside Costco Wholesale in Danvers, Mass
A gallon drum of mayonnaise, a 20-pack of tube socks, and a reasonably-priced flat-screen TV are all things consumers can pick up at warehouse retailer Costco.
Now, they can add a home mortgage to their shopping lists, too.
After a year-long pilot program, Costco is rolling out a full-service home loan program, according to CNNMoney, partnering with New Jersey-based community bank First Choice Bank along with 10 other lenders.
Those lenders have already written more than 10,000 mortgages for Costco members thus far, and that number is only expected to grow as the program is more aggressively marketed.
"I went in to buy some bottled water, big bags of chips, cereal and some Nutri-Grain bars," one Georgia shopper told CNNMoney. "I saw a home loan brochure on my way out and picked it up."
Using Costco's mortgage services site, the shopper found rates from four lenders, as well as closing costs, which ended up being a third of the fee other lenders were charging, he said. He was able to refinance his mortgage and save hundreds of dollars on his monthly payment.
Costco, which already offers health and auto insurance among other financial products, plans to further expand its offerings to include auto and student loans.
"We've always known that our members wanted more financial services," said Lauren Kutschka, Costco's manager of financial services.
Meg Handley is a business reporter for U.S. News & World Report. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. You can also reach her at mhandley@usnews.com.
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