Daily News and Information for the Mortgage Loan Originator
Countrywide to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs
Friday, September 07, 2007
- By Staff Writer, Originator Times
CALABASAS, CA - Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Friday it would cut up to 12,000 jobs, the biggest job reduction by a single company to date that stems from the deepening U.S. housing crisis.
According to the company, it expects to eliminate up to 20 percent of its work force over the next three months, for a loss of 10,000 to 12,000 jobs. It said the cuts were needed because mortgage volume may decline 25 percent in 2008 from this year's level.
"We are taking decisive action to ensure that Countrywide continues to be well-positioned for further success," said Angelo Mozilo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "As we carry out our plan, the Company's overarching focus is exactly where it has always been: to remain an industry leader in the U.S. residential lending business, to deliver value and world-class service to our customers and business partners, to enhance shareholder value, and to provide career opportunities for our people."
The company’s decision to make the current job cuts were announced less than 20 days after it announced that it would cut an undisclosed amount of employees from its Full Spectrum unit.
"Each employee at Countrywide is considered an important member of the Countrywide family," said David Sambol, President and Chief Operating Officer. "While workforce reductions are therefore always very difficult, these decisions are being made with the utmost attention and sensitivity to the impact they will have on our Company and our people."
However, on a positive note the company said, it would continue its profitable market share growth in areas of opportunity as they presented themselves.
Related
Articles :
Countywide, 1st Horizon Cut Staff Due to Volume Decrease In response to lower loan volume Countrywide and 1st Horizon have announced that they will both be trimming staff. In a recent memo sent to Countrywide’s employees, the lender said it would be cutting up to 10% of its "general" and administrative jobs in the coming months.
Countrywide Axes Originators – 6,800 Jobs at Risk Just two weeks after Countrywide Financial Corp., the nations number one lender, announced it would be hiring additional loan originators from it’s failing competitors, the company has begun laying off an undisclosed amount of originators itself, according to published reports.
Survey Finds 1/3 of Broker Loans Failed to Close Last Month About 33% of home purchase closings of loans originated by mortgage brokers were canceled during August, according to a new national survey, which also found that 57% of brokers' customers could not refinance adjustable rate mortgages that had resetting interest rates.
First Horizon to Cut 50% of its Mortgage Originators First Horizon National Corp. said today it will cut at least 1,500 mortgage origination jobs by early next year due to challenging conditions in its mortgage, national real estate and banking businesses. According to the company it now employs roughly 11,300 workers.
$11 Billion More Subprime Woes for Citigroup Citigroup CEO Charles Prince has stepped down as the nation's top financial services company announced they will suffer more declines in its subprime portfolio. During the announcement of Prince's departure over the weekend, a Citigroup spokesperson said they expect an additional $8 billion to $11 billion in writedowns and that they will not release further updates about its mortgage business until January, 2008 when fourth-quarter figures are reported.
Bank of America Buys Countrywide Bank of America has announced they will buy Countrywide Financial Corp. for $4 billion. The all-stock deal did not come as a surprise, as many anticipated Bank of America to come to the aid of Countrywide, who has been hit hard by the lending crisis. In October, Countrywide announced a $1.2 billion third quarter loss which was the company's first quarterly loss in 25 years.
Mortgage CEOs Under Fire Countrywide Financial's founder and CEO Angelo Mozilo, former Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO Stanley O'Neal, and ex-Citigroup chief Charles Prince defended their hefty compensation packages in front of a U.S. Congressional committee. The committee wanted to know why these executives were richly rewarded when their companies failed to perform.
