Citi, BofA Add to Layoff Announcements

Sources at Citigroup and Bank of America say the two banks are planning to lay off thousands of mortgage workers over the next several months as refinance demand spirals down.

[IMAGE]

According to a ""report"":http://www.foxbusiness.com/government/2013/09/11/citi-mulls-laying-off-2200-in-mortgage-unit/ from _FOX Business_, executives at Citi told reporters the company will cut an estimated 2,200 jobs from its mortgage business ""by early next year"" due to rising mortgage rates driving down demand.

""We recently announced the closing of the CitiMortgage Danville, Illinois, facility due to decreased refinance volumes, and discontinued some telesales positions,"" Mark Rogers, Citi's director of communications, told _FOX Business_.

Rogers added the bank has nothing further to announce at this point, though he said Citi is ""taking steps to make sure [its] mortgage business is sized correctly"" in response to low refinance volume.

Meanwhile, _Bloomberg_ has ""reported"":http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-10/bofa-cuts-jobs-as-mortgage-slump-ensnares-jpmorgan-wells-fargo.html that Bank of America is cutting 2,100 jobs and closing 16 offices by the end of October, according to ""two people with direct knowledge of the plan.""

Approximately 1,500 of the workers set to be laid off helped process loans, _Bloomberg_ reported. About 400 worked in a Cleveland call center, and 200 handled overdue mortgage cases.

Other affected locations include three offices in California and locations in Virginia, Washington, Texas, and Ohio--leaving about 25 mortgage offices, sources told _Bloomberg_.

Citi and BofA aren't the only banks to be impacted by rising interest rates and improved loan performance. Reports in late August indicated ""JPMorgan Chase"":https://themreport.com/articles/jpmorgan-chase-announces-layoffs-as-borrowers-bounce-back-2013-08-20 and ""Wells Fargo"":https://themreport.com/articles/report-wells-fargo-to-cut-2300-production-jobs-2013-08-26 are both preparing to cut loan production and assistance jobs.

It isn't just the biggest banks having to make cuts: Virginia's _Richmond Times-Dispatch_ ""reported"":http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/suntrust-cut-jobs-in-mortgage-operations/article_9b72ea84-19a7-11e3-a06f-0019bb30f31a.html Tuesday that SunTrust Banks Inc. plans to eliminate 100 mortgage jobs in its centers across the country.