Wells Fargo cutting 68 mortgage jobs in Charlotte, Fort Mill
Wells Fargo said Wednesday that it’s cutting 68 mortgage positions in Charlotte and Fort Mill, marking the latest reduction in its home loan business.
The San Francisco-based bank attributed the layoffs to declining delinquency and foreclosure rates and only “modest improvements” in the demand for mortgage financing. The cuts are part of 581 nationwide, including 87 in Raleigh and 12 field representatives across North Carolina, a spokesman said.
Other banks, including Charlotte-based Bank of America, have been trimming mortgage staffs they bulked up during the financial crisis to handle problem loans.
Wells said it’s providing employees with 60-day noticed effective Wednesday and will look for other opportunities for affected employees within the company.
Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, has about 23,500 employees in the Charlotte area. On Wednesday, the Observer reported that the bank is separately cutting a “small number” of employees in its securities unit.
The layoffs came as the bank on Wednesday announced a $1.2 billion settlement to resolve a long-running mortgage dispute with the U.S. government, a move that slashes the bank’s 2015 profit by $134 million.
The deal involved civil fraud claims brought in 2012 against Wells, which the government had accused of “reckless” underwriting practices that led to thousands of federally-insured loans defaulting. The government said Wells Fargo’s false certifications that the loans met requirements for federal insurance resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance payouts. Staff writer Deon Roberts contributed.
Rick Rothacker: 704-358-5170, @rickrothacker
This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Wells Fargo cutting 68 mortgage jobs in Charlotte, Fort Mill."