Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Continues Job Cuts
February 22nd, 2007
NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co. said on Wednesday it is cutting 320 subprime mortgage jobs in two operations centers because it is tightening its lending standards to home buyers with poor credit histories.
About 250 jobs are being eliminated in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and 70 in Concord, California, according to a memo from Lynn Greenwood, a senior vice president of communications for the No. 5 U.S. bank’s home and consumer finance group. Wells Fargo is the largest U.S. subprime mortgage lender,
“As a result of changing market conditions — such as moderating house price appreciation — effective Feb. 16 we tightened our credit policy for a portion of our nonprime lending business,” Greenwood wrote. “This decision directly impacts our nonprime loan volume, which in turn impacts staffing levels in the areas devoted to managing these loans.”
The cuts are the latest retrenchment in the subprime sector. Defaults are rising as flatter or falling home prices make it harder to refinance adjustable-rate mortgages whose rates reset higher.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo said it will give consideration for affected workers who want to stay on.
