Mortgage Industry Lays Off More Workers

The mortgage industry isn’t just hemorrhaging money anymore, it’s hemorrhaging jobs. Two more mortgage lenders (Lehman Brothers Holdings and the National City Corporation) announced that they would be laying off 2,000 employees.

From the NYT:

The bank is cutting back on issuing home loans it cannot sell to government agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The bank will also suspend issuing home equity loans through brokers. The home equity unit and mortgage unit will be combined into one subsidiary.

Because there is so little demand among investors for home loans, National City said it might have to keep some of its mortgage debt instead of sell it. When a bank elects to keep a loan, it must record the market value of this loan on its books. National City said it would probably record a $30 million accounting charge to reflect the lower value of loans on its books.

And, hell, it’s not even October yet.

More Layoffs in Mortgage Industry [NYT]
(Photo:Getty)

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