I have been hearing that a big hit will happen on 3/15/2016 – at least on the mortgage side. They plan (still a rumor) to keep laying people off through the end of 2016, it’ll be a monthly process, planned and managed, with cuts happening every last Tuesday of every month. They have done similar things in the past, I would not be surprised if this continues to be the case.
Look, from the business perspective, low rates do not help as that’s cutting into our profits. The slowdown on the mortgage side is also very problematic, the armies of people working on foreclosures are not needed, the origination side is hurting as well. I am not sure what’s going on the retail side, but small business landing is doing really well based on what I hear from my contacts there.
Other banks are doing the same things, WF had huge cuts this year, and Bank of New York Mellon just started their cuts this week. WF cuts are only on the mortgage side. Citi has been doing smaller cuts every week, so nothing new there.
Also, from the retail side, with the uptick in online banking, you’ll see branches closed across the country, tellers will be hit the most as some locations are already cutting hours and some of them not hiring, etc.
Let’s see how 2016 develops, if we continue to be in a situation where we have low rates, depressed markets and slow down on the mortgage side, things do not look good for any of us.