Jobs Up, Loans Down at Countrywide
CALABASAS, Calif. - Employment at Countrywide Credit Industries rose in January for the second month in a row, but the origination business continued to slide.Though Countrywide said its work force grew nearly 1% - to 10,610, from 10,521 - it reported Thursday that its total production for January was down 21% from December. The nation's largest nonbank-owned mortgage company increased its work force by nearly 400 in December, ending months of declines that had reduced head count by about 20% from peak levels in 1998.
A spokesman for Countrywide said the spike in December occurred because of the purchase of Balboa Life and Casualty Insurance and credited January's increase to a prospering servicing business. "When rates tick up, servicing becomes our hedge against fluctuations in revenue," he said.
Separately, Bank of America Corp. announced on Thursday that it plans to create a single channel for its title and settlement services previously handled by vendors, called HomeStreet Services, which will create up to 250 new jobs.
Bank of America officials said the new venture, which will be located in St. Louis, Mo., will streamline the lending process, making it simpler and more convenient for customers.
The Charlotte, N.C., banking company had cut mortgage jobs in the last year and indicated it would replace them in other areas. "We are almost continuously trying to find where the jobs need to be and what the jobs are," a spokeswoman said. "In this sense, some jobs go away, and some jobs are created."
HomeStreet would initiate operations in May.
- Robert Julavits
J.P. Morgan Bankers Loosening Neckties
NEW YORK - The venerable old-line banking firm J.P. Morgan & Co. has gone casual.Its managers reportedly began sending out memos this month outlining a new dress code more in keeping with the tastes of the technology entrepreneurs the Wall Street company is competing to serve. The new policy was reported in the New York Observer, a weekly newspaper that covers cultural and society trends in the Big Apple.
The paper illustrated its scoop with a computer generated image contrasting a J.P. Morgan vice president, John Jansen, enjoying a dish of soft ice cream in an open-collared striped shirt, to a movie still of actor Charlie Sheen, in a dark suit and tie in the movie "Wall Street."
The paper said the policy was to dress in a "business appropriate" way five days a week - and to keep a suit handy for meetings where business attire is de rigueur.
A bank spokesman said the change was part of an "evolutionary development." The company's operations in Delaware have been casual for several years, he said, and its London offices for half a year. The New York office, he said, has had a casual Friday policy for two years and last year allowed casual dress during the summer.
The article said J.P. Morgan is hardly the only investment firm adjusting its dress policy as competition for Silicon Valley business heats up. It noted that high-end clothiers such as Brooks Brothers have had to adjust their inventory to accommodate the change.
- Stephen Kleege
United Community of Ga. Has In-State Deal
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. - United Community Banks Inc. said late Wednesday that it has a deal to buy North Point Bancshares in Dawsonville, Ga., for about $36.4 million of stock.United, which operates eight community banks in north Georgia and western North Carolina, would exchange 2.27 shares for each share of North Point stock. The deal is valued at $38 a share, or 3.8 times North Point's book value and 25 times its 1999 earnings.
North Point, with $111 million of assets, is the parent of Dawson County Bank. Dawson County Bank would operate as a subsidiary of $2.1 billion-asset United. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
- Alan Kline
