The bloodshed in the mortgage industry continues…
In what has turned out to be arguably one of the worst weeks in mortgage lending history, thousands of people were laid of from mortgage banking firms.The week started out with the announced closing of Capital One Financial Corp.-subsidiary GreenPoint Mortgage. The Alt-A lender had 1,900 employees in 31 locations.
Lehman Brothers announced Wednesday it would close subsidiary BNC Mortgage LLC. About 1,200 employees in 23 offices will lose their jobs, according to the statement.
More than 1,000 people were fired when Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. said it is closing its retail operation, eliminating half of its wholesale operation and temporarily halting all new business. After all job cuts, approximately 1,000 employees will be left out of 2,600 reported for June 30.
HSBC Mortgage Corp. plans to close down an Indiana mortgage operation by the second quarter of 2008 – leaving the office’s 600 employees unsure about their future. While many of the subprime center’s employees will be laid off, some will be given the opportunity to apply for other positions at HSBC, a spokesman said.
More than 500 employees will be laid off as a result of 1st National Bank Holding Co.'s discontinuance of its Alt-A wholesale lending operations. The company, which operated with account executives in 43 states, announced it will close three operations centers.
Countrywide Financial Corp., which rocked world financial markets recently with its drawing down of an $11.5 billion credit line, cut 400 jobs at it subprime subsidiary, Full Spectrum Lending.
“In recent months, the volume of subprime mortgage lending has contracted significantly across the industry,” Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide said in a written statement.
Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday another round of layoffs. This time, 350 employees were given notice.
Delta Financial Corp. announced Wednesday it has eliminated approximately 300 jobs. Most of the layoffs resulted from the closing of satellite wholesale offices in California, Florida and Texas. Some of the cuts involved production jobs.
Option One Mortgage Corp., which is in the process of being acquired by Cerberus Capital Management L.P., said in a filing with the state of Texas that it would close a Texas office and lay off 57 people. The move is part of a cost-cutting restructuring plan laid out by its parent earlier this month.
Regions Financial Corp. recently announced it is closing its warehouse lending operation. That move displaced about 30 Alabama employees.
source: Mortgage Daily
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