BofA Laying Off Hundreds of Retail LOs

On Friday, subsidiary Bank of America Home Loans advised employees at 40 retail sales offices that it would be closing the branches, BofA Senior Vice President Corporate Communications Terry Francisco explained in a telephone interview.

The move was made as part of a “general streamlining of the business” as the company focuses on stronger markets.

Impacted offices are located in areas where the Calabasas, Calif.-based company has a “very limited sales presence,” according to Francisco. That includes offices in the states of Alabama, Alaska, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Wyoming as well as some offices in other states.

“We’re ending our on-the-ground retail sales presence in those six states,” the spokesman stated.

The office closings will occur over the next several weeks. But more than 500 retail sales branches will remain.

As a result of the branch closings, 330 mortgage loan officers are being laid off. The job cuts are happening over the next couple weeks.

But the company still has the capacity to handle the currently elevated refinance volume, according to Francisco.

Borrowers in the states where branches were closed can still obtain mortgages through centralized sales channels. These include Internet and telephone channels.

Francisco said in a written statement that around two-thirds of retail originations are generated through branch originators, while the other third comes from the centralized sales channels.

“However, if you look at refinance volume, more than 50 percent comes in through centralized channels,” he explained.

The layoffs follow the company’s disclosure this week that it would close its correspondent lending business — a move that will impact 1,200 employees.

BofA said last month that it plans to cut its company-wide staff by 30,000 during the next few years.