Chase Bank to Add 1200 New Loan Officers

Chase Bank is expecting the housing market to fully recover, and will be ready with an amped-up lending sales force when it does.

Think the sky is still falling in the housing market? Chase Bank doesn’t seem to think so, with its recent announcement that it will hire 1200 new loan officers by the end of 2010.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (Chase Bank) will increase its sales force by a whopping 60% with these new additions, which are to be spread across 23 states including California, Florida and Texas, and with an emphasis on certain large metro areas like New York City and Chicago. This sales force of newly-minted loan officers will help Chase acquire more business in both the homebuying and refinance sectors of the loan industry.

“With nearly 5,200 bank branches – one of the largest networks in the country – we need to ensure each branch has seasoned mortgage professionals to help meet the needs of their communities and is well-positioned when the housing market fully recovers,” says Dave Lowman, head of home lending at Chase. The new loan officers are to work with personal bankers, real estate agents and builders, as well as with their own network of homeowners to build Chase’s portfolio of home loans.

Huh… “when the housing market fully recovers” he says… and this planned expansion is set to be complete by the end of 2010? Sounds like good news for the housing market indeed!