To cope with the higher demand for housing loans and refinancing, large US banks are hiring more mortgage brokers, according to media reports.
While the 2008 global financial crisis affected many banks in the country, lenders still committed to the mortgage business are continuing to hire.
Mortgage lender Wells Fargo added around 2,000 people last quarter as loan application volume rose in response to the Federal Reserve’s third round of quantitative easing (QE3), noted Tim Sloan, the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
While banks are struggling to meet the surge in demand, capacity constraints work in their favour, said Jamie Dimon, Chief Executive at JPMorgan. Profits for Q3 at all major lenders, including Citigroup, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase grew significantly thanks to mortgage operations.
However, banks rolling out mortgages revealed that they do not want to hire too many employees only to lay them off when volume declines. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) predicts that lenders will make US$1.47 trillion (S$1.79 trillion) from mortgages and refinancing in 2012, but only US$1.04 trillion (S$1.27 trillion) in 2013.
“We are trying to … not over hire,” said Andy Cecere, Chief Financial Officer at US Bancorp.
Related Stories:
Mixed bag for US mortgage rates
More cuts won’t help lift Aussie mortgage market
Home loan practices under scrutiny