Just offering some additional nuance. Free advertising for the bank would be a thing of value for sure but to have a RESPA Section 8 issue you need to have a thing of value passing one direction and the referral coming back the other way. If you don't refer customers to the realtor then you would be getting both the thing of value and the referral. Not really an exchange when both things are going the same direction?
That said, you would have to then be very careful that you don't refer customers to the realtor and create a Section 8 issue for yourself.
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Opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect legal advice or the opinions of my employer.