As loan performance and efficiency continues to improve at banks, they have reduced their mortgage servicing staffs even as non-banks have held steady.
Residential loan servicing businesses at the nation’s banks currently employ an average of approximately 4,000 full-time mortgage servicing employees.
Staffing within the financial institutions’ servicing operations has thinned considerably compared to two years ago, when average headcount was around 8,000.
That is according to
the quarterly U.S. RMBS Servicer Handbook from Fitch Ratings.
“This staffing trend is in stark contrast with nonbank servicers, which are continuing to focus on servicing growth and whose borrowers generally still require more frequent interaction, driving their need for robust staffing,” the report stated.
Average staffing has remained at nearly 2,000 servicing employees at a non-banks.
Behind banks’ diminishing servicing headcount is falling mortgage delinquency.
In addition, the origination of loans with high credit quality for banks’ portfolios
has helped reduce demand for servicing employees.
Fitch noted that average loans serviced per employee at banks is twice the level at non-banks.
The ratings agency said that this comparison is unlikely to change much soon.
