Mortgage Servicer Taking Over JPMorgan Call Center with State Help

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a mortgage service provider, has agreed to take over the lease on a customer service operation in Monroe, La., from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) with the help of state subsidies.

As part of the agreement, Wingspan, based in Dallas, will offer jobs to 400 current Chase employees. It also has agreed to create 532 new jobs over the next decade.

The Louisiana Economic Development office gave Wingspan two grants — $600,000 for the cost of leasing the 550,000-square-foot facility and $500,000 to offset renovation costs. Wingspan plans to spend $2 million to renovate the seven-story building.

Wingspan's CEO Steven Horne joined Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at a press conference in Monroe to announce the deal that the state proclaimed will bring 609 "indirect" jobs to the state.

"Today's announcement is a great win for Northern Louisiana," Jindal said in a press release issued Friday. "Wingspan's investment in this area will support Monroe's economy for years to come."

Chase will continue to employ about 100 people at the site in legal affairs and support services for U.S. military service members. It also has a 1,200-employee mortgage records and imaging facility in Monroe.

Wingspan is a specialty servicer of problem loans and provides a range of outsourced services to mortgage lenders including underwriting, back-office processing, complaint-resolution and compliance oversight.

In February, Wingspan acquired a servicing operation in Melbourne, Fla., with 400 employees from JPMorgan Chase. In May, it bought Dimont & Associates, a San Diego hazard insurance claims company.

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