More Mortgage-Related Job Cuts at National City

The 900 employees in National City's wholesale mortgage division learned of the layoffs on New Year's Eve. The move brings the total number of job cuts at National City in 2007 to 3400. Two-thirds of the cuts were related to the company's mortgage operations. A spokeswoman for the Cleveland-based company says the latest round of cuts will be spread nationwide and the impact in Northeast Ohio will be minimal. Though the wholesale mortgage division is now closed, the bank will continue to originate loans directly to consumers through retail and branch offices across the country. In a November 30th SEC filing, National City predicted it would take $700 million dollars in losses from risky home loans for the 4th quarter of 2007. Areas of elevated risk, National City wrote in the federal filing, come from broker-originated home equity loans and loans from its former subprime originator, First Franklin. National City sold off First Franklin in late 2006 to Merrill Lynch but kept about $7 billion in loans originated before the sale.