Citigroup to Exit Mortgage Brokerage Channel

""Citigroup"":http://www.citigroup.com/citi/homepage/ joined a host of other financial institutions Wednesday by declaring that it plans to exit the mortgage brokerage business.

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Mark Rodgers, a spokesperson for Citi, says that the bank ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the nation's third-largest by assets ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô elected to ""transition away from our mortgage broker business and sharpen our focus on a customer-centric channel strategy.""

He says that the move away from brokers will allow Citi to ""focus our attention and efforts on our retail and

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correspondent channels,"" even while it invests ""resources in growing those channels that align the mortgage business with the overarching customer-centric strategy"" of the industry in North America.

He said that the bank expects to ""transition"" most of the employees from the broker channel to ""similar roles within the business.""

""Bloomberg News"":http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-01/citigroup-says-bank-plans-to-exit-mortgage-brokerage-business.html quoted the spokesperson Wednesday as saying that Citi anticipates transitions for many of the 300 brokers in its employ and job ""discontinuances"" in the ""low double-digits.""

The news outlet reported figures from Inside Mortgage Finance that said Citi had originated $67.9 billion of mortgages in 2011, 8.6 percent of which comes from brokers.

""Bank of America"":https://www.bankofamerica.com/ and ""JPMorgan"":http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/home.htm also decided to cease mortgage originations via brokers in recent months.

This follows a wave of industry departures last fall, with life insurer ""MetLife"":http://www.metlife.com/ and ""Morgan Stanley"":http://www.morganstanley.com/ announcing their departures from the forward mortgage and servicing shares of market activity, respectively.