U.S. mortgage companies face sharp job cuts

Bloomberg News
Published: September 10, 2007

NEW YORK: The worst U.S. housing slump in 16 years may lead mortgage companies to eliminate almost 100,000 jobs this year, more than double the number already cut since January.

As many as 20 percent of U.S. real estate loan officers and mortgage brokers will be fired, according to Josh Rosner, a managing director at Graham Fisher & Co., an investment research firm in New York.

That is in addition to the 10 percent reduction from December to July that thinned their ranks to 450,000, as many investors stopped buying mortgages and lenders curtailed financing to avoid rising subprime defaults.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/10/business/prime.php

Tucson - First Magnus Halts Lending, Lays off Employees

First Magnus announces layoffs, halts new loan activity
By Jack Gillum
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 08.16.2007

First Magnus Financial Corp. announced this morning that it would substantially cut its workforce, after announcing to its employees late Wednesday that it would stop writing loans today.

Employees at the Tucson-based mortgage firm, headquartered at 603 N. Wilmot Road, were leaving this morning with packed boxes - many with downtrodden faces and some uncertain about what to do next.

http://www.azstarnet.com/business/196691