Wells Fargo to cut 925 jobs as refinancing drops

Wells Fargo, the biggest US mortgage lender, said Thursday it would cut a further 925 jobs in its home lending business due to a decline in refinancing. "Yesterday, across the country, we provided a 60-day notice of displacement to 925 mortgage team members," the company said in an emailed statement to AFP. "We are committed to retaining as many team members as possible, working with them to identify other opportunities within Wells Fargo." The move came because "the mortgage refinancing volume remained below that of last year," company spokesman Alfredo Padilla told AFP. Wells Fargo announced in August that it was cutting 2,300 jobs due to declines in mortgage refinancing. Last week Wells Fargo reported a 13 percent rise in third-quarter profit despite a big drop-off in home mortgages compared with the prior quarter. Wells Fargo said home lending originations sank to $80 billion, compared with $112 billion in the prior quarter, while applications fell to $87 billion compared with $146 billion. The San Francisco-based bank said that mortgage banking revenue was lower in the quarter because recent increases in interest rates had reduced refinance volume.