Despite thousands of refinance-related layoffs recently reported by some large originators, Mortgage Daily has identified more than a thousand mortgage-related positions that are being filled by several firms. Much of the recent activity is in mortgage servicing.
Among hiring trends predicted in 2011 by Hammerhouse Strategic Growth Partners is an increased focus by employers on recruits with top credentials and strong track records. A decline in refinance activity will raise the value of recruits who go after purchase business and have an established network of referrals.
A relocation to Research Valley, Pa., has Penncro Associates Inc. creating 550 jobs in support of mortgage servicing, the company said just before the start of the first quarter. The lender held recruiting events to attract employee prospects.
Recruiting efforts were underway for management, training, and support staff positions, according to Penncro. The accounts receivables management company claims to have “the world’s leading financial institutions” on its client roster.
Headcount at specialty servicer Wingspan Portfolio Advisors has grown to 300 employees, a Feb. 22 statement said. In October 2009, Wingspan’s staff size was just 34. Plans were to reach 150 employees by October 2010.
The Carrollton, Texas-based firm’s founder, Steve Horne, speculated in the latest release that that staff size could reach 600 within a year.
The March 28th opening of a new office in Owensboro, Ky., was expected to result in hundreds of job hirings at U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, Nexstar Broadcasting Inc. reported. The facility was built to house 500 people, and hirings are ongoing.
A job fair was hosted by Quicken Loans Inc. on Saturday at its Detroit headquarters, a spokesman confirmed in a statement. Around 100 people are being recruited for positions in mortgage banking, operations, technology, marketing and human resources.
The Quicken spokesman noted that hirings are being made “monthly to meet business needs and to support growth.”
JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported to MortgageDaily.com that 25 new homeownership centers in 19 states announced on Feb. 2 involved more than 100 hirings this year.
“Chase has added nearly 8,000 employees since 2009 to provide more dedicated staff for customers,” the announcement said.
Out of around 200 planned hirings this year by Foundation Financial, 50 positions were expected to be added during the first quarter in Rochester, N.Y. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said in a December news release that 170 full-time positions were being added at five operations centers including in Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Savannah, Ga.
On the West Coast, 39 people have been hired by First California Mortgage Co., the company’s Director Marketing and Creative Industries Kat Hollowell reported to MortgageDaily.com.
A fulfillment center in Washington will house five operations employees, four salespeople and a manager, Hollowell said. Another center in Southern California will employ three operations employees and a manger. An additional 25 people have been hired throughout all of First Cal’s territory since October, when the Petaluma, Calif.-based company reported that 70 employees had been added since June 2010.
During December, the Mayor of Jacksonville, Fla., was reported in local news publications to be lauding a thousand local hirings by Bank of America Corp. A BofA spokesman didn’t provide further details about how many of the jobs were mortgage-related.
AMS Servicing LLC announced last month that it is hiring full- and part-time customer-service and call-center representatives, negotiators, and team leaders in Depew, N.Y. The new recruits will handle short-sale inquiries. The latest recruiting efforts follow a similar announcement by AMS in July 2010. An AMS spokesman ignored a request for information about the number of hires and when the positions were expected to be filled.
In Alabama, Shore Mortgage plans to hire 80 loan originators, the Birmingham Business Journal reported. Half of the Birmingham hires will be “loan officers” while the other half will be in “virtual loan officer” positions and work from their homes.
But Shore — which is reportedly hiring in Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Missouri — isn’t the only company adding mortgage jobs in Alabama.
Between 20 and 25 mortgage employees are being hired by BancorpSouth Inc. in Birmingham and Huntsville, the Birmingham Business Journal reported. The Tupelo, Miss.-based lender, which only had one loan processor and one loan originator for the region, is recruiting originators, operational personnel and management.
In January, Brand Mortgage Group boasted 100 Georgia hirings during the prior two years, the Gwinnett Daily Post reported. More hirings were planned in Georgia, while additional hirings are expected in the later part of 2011 in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
