HowardJob Cuts Hit Wall St.
September 8th 2007 11:46
Citigroup has stopped taking new clients at its First Collateral unit for credit to mortgage banks. Oh my! Layoffs are rampant, the real estate crash is taking its toll. Countrywide Financial Corp., the #1 mortgage lender in the U.S., announced a cut of as many as 12,000 jobs (20% of its workforce). "First Collateral's `warehouse' loans provide mortgage companies with cash so they can fund purchases and refinancings." According to Bloomberg, First Collateral is ranked fifth among warehouse lenders with $4 billion of commitments as of March 31, according to estimates by National Mortgage News.
In related news, today's print edition of the Wall Street Journal reported today that Lehman Brothers Holdings, the largest underwriter of mortgage-backed securities, said it would cut 850 jobs in the U.S. and the U.K., in the latest round of restructuring of its residential-mortgage operations, and would close those operations' South Korean branch. Lehman has cut about 2500 jobs in residential-mortgage units since beginning of the summer. National City Corp. in Cleveland also announced a cut of 1300 jobs, and said that it would "take as much as $200 million in pretax charges in the third quarter, related to scaling back its mortgage-banking business."
Bloomberg.com reported the following additional cuts in the mortgage business, in addition to Lehman Bros.: First America Corp. (largest U.S. title insurer) 1300 cut; Land America Financial Group (Richmond-based title insurer) 1100 cut.
In related news, today's print edition of the Wall Street Journal reported today that Lehman Brothers Holdings, the largest underwriter of mortgage-backed securities, said it would cut 850 jobs in the U.S. and the U.K., in the latest round of restructuring of its residential-mortgage operations, and would close those operations' South Korean branch. Lehman has cut about 2500 jobs in residential-mortgage units since beginning of the summer. National City Corp. in Cleveland also announced a cut of 1300 jobs, and said that it would "take as much as $200 million in pretax charges in the third quarter, related to scaling back its mortgage-banking business."
Bloomberg.com reported the following additional cuts in the mortgage business, in addition to Lehman Bros.: First America Corp. (largest U.S. title insurer) 1300 cut; Land America Financial Group (Richmond-based title insurer) 1100 cut.
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