A Chicago-based mortgage firm is laying off more than 400 mortgage brokers next month.
The company is Pan American Mortgage LLC, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Such filings are required at least 60 days in advance of mass layoffs involving more than 50 employees in a single state.
The mortgage unit is a subsidiary of Pan American Bank — a 28-employee institution founded 15 years ago with $145 million in assets including $20 million in residential loans and $41 million in commercial mortgages, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The March 9 WARN filing indicated that 443 “mortgage & nonmortgage loan brokers” will be let go. Layoffs are expected to begin on May 9.
A woman answering the main phone at the Chicago location indicated that Pan American Mortgage is still originating loans. But further queries were directed to an executive who wasn’t immediately available.
On its Web site, Pan American says its loan officers are also “financial consultants.”
“Pan American Mortgage is a full service mortgage broker affiliated with banks and investors throughout the country,” the site says. “Our loan consultants are trained to negotiate with hundreds of financial institutions to secure the lowest interest rate available.”
Among available products touted on the Web site are debt-consolidations loans, adjustable-rate mortgages and balloon mortgages.
