Market Watch reports that as it consolidates mortgage operations in light of recent market changes. Morgan Stanley owns and operates Saxon Capital which is one of the few remaining subprime lenders in the market place. The move includes 500 state-side jobs and corroborates the recent detailing branch closings at East Coast Saxon offices.
“The industry has experienced a fundamental paradigm shift that will require banks to rethink product offerings and capital structures and to provide greater transparency to investors in securities backed by pools of mortgages,” said Bruce Witherell managing director and global co-head of the residential mortgage business at Morgan Stanley.
I have to say that from a corporate perspective limiting exposure to subprime loans in this market is a key strategic win. As a front-liner I can tell you that subprime is looking well more subprime everyday. The people looking for financing continue to be less credit worthy more stretched financially and in general terrible credit risks for banks. Saxon. Citi and other remaining subprime lenders who have made fewer changes to their subprime product mix compared to mortgage banks are going to continue to be susceptible to poor portfolio performance. Every day that these guys stay open is another day that poor quality loans are moving through the system.
Saxon has been a last resort type bank where files that have been declined at multiple other institutions are sent to Saxon for a last-ditch shot at being approved. That is never a good distinction for a mortgage bank to have; especially in a deteriorating market place.
Another day more bad news. This is really hitting a lot of people hard out there. I know of one mortgage lender that chose suicide as the way out and the ones that still have jobs are struggling to get by. Of course this spending binge will eventually unwind and affect everybody’s job so nobody should be feeling too smug.
I agree… all my friends in this industry including me are feeling the pain. I’m still working but. I look at these websites every day and just shake my head wondering! Whose next? You can’t even go to the bathroom with a co worker in my office without everybody thinking “is there another layoff meeting?” The really sad thing about this whole mortgage crisis is… if you lose you’re job it’s not like you can just go get another one like before because when you’re whole industry is not hiring what you can do! Also I’m sure most of us have been looking for jobs and finding out the hard way that nobody pays like mortgage money… degree or no degree!
The layoffs have hurt more than just brokers and Loan officers think about the processors,closers and title company workers most of these employee’s earned between 30,000 to 50,000 per year and were loyal to some of the biggest crooks at the head of these imploded companies. We will all be better for all that has happened. There are universal laws in effect the economist have been screaming about since early 2004 that I myself did not want to believe about the housing cycles. The pace of the housing values and could not continue to grow. The corrections had to happen because wages were not going up. Don’t blame it on Greenspan. He raise interest rates 18 times in a year and a half but the investors demanded those CDO’s and the market did not respond until the defaults started mounting and earnings took and nose dive. In June of 2007 30 fixed rates were about 6.5%. We have to find the lesson in this mess and never repeat the mistakes again.
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Related article:
http://blownmortgage.com/2007/10/02/morgan-stanley-lays-off-in-mortgage-related-divisions/
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