Mortgage madness
FINANCIAL FALLOUT: JPMorgan Chase & Co. will lay off 91 employees at its mortgage operations center in Ontario amid a downturn in the housing market and tighter lending standards.
Company mortgage division spokesman Tom Kelly said Monday that employees and government officials were
notified in October about the cuts, which will take effect before Dec. 31. Kelly said the layoffs in the company’s subprime mortgage staff come as fewer qualified home buyers seek loans.
Kelly said about 40 percent of the subprime mortgages the company originated a year ago would not be approved using the standards employed today. They include larger down payments, more
documentation and better credit.