Former bankers and mortgage bankers are finding work helping the government sift through the rash of bank failures. But the pace of hirings at financial institutions and mortgage lenders is less brisk — though one default service provider has been busy.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Division of Resolutions and Receiverships has grown from 400 employees at the beginning of last year to 1,161 as of January, according to testimony from Mitchell L. Glassman, FDIC’s director, Division of Resolutions and Receiverships. The FDIC’s board of directors approved a further expansion in the staff — to 2,310 by the end of this year.
“In addition, we use a large number of private contractors and outside law firms to help us respond quickly to immediate workload requirements related to the closing of failed institutions,” Glassman testified in prepared testimony. “Last year, we significantly expanded our workforce of Receivership Assistance Contractors. The eight receivership assistance firms under contract to us recruited and trained over 5,700 staff from banking and finance to address our workload needs.”
A search on FDIC’s job site, www.quickhire.com, using the keyword “mortgage” yields 301 results.
In a news posting on its Web site, Digital Risk LLC indicated a new Jacksonville, Fla., site will house 300 new employees. Executives reportedly expect to complete the hires within one year. Another 30 people were hired at different Florida location.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist originally announced in September 2009 a jobs deal with Digital Risk, a default service provider.
In Cleveland, Huntington Bank recently said it planned to hire 150 new employees. In addition, another 50 hirings were expected to include some mortgage jobs.
Huntington spokeswoman Maureen Brown ignored a request for clarification about how many mortgage jobs were involved.
This year, Amplify Credit Union plans to hire another 32 employees, a March news release said. The job expansion is occurring in all of the Austin, Texas-based institution’s divisions.
A March 18 statement from Evolve Bank & Trust indicated a new loan production office was opened in Carollton, Texas. The Memphis, Tenn.-based bank already operates 10 mortgage production offices. The new facility is expected to employ 20 people.
Port Huron, Mich., First Preferred Mortgage Co. plans on hiring 50 people between March and September 2011, an article from the Times Herald indicated. The 160-employee company, founded in 1992, is adding underwriters, loan processors and administrative positions.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced last week that it approved First Niagara Bank’s application to acquired Harleysville National Bank & Trust Co. and subsidiary First Niagara Commercial Bank. The acquisition closed last week, and 18 mortgage employees chose not to join the new company and instead were hired by Meridian Bank, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
