Santander Bank, the U.S. banking arm of Spain’s Banco Santander, is exiting its third-party mortgage origination business as the lender shifts its focus to originating mortgages through its 600 retail bank branches.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer (citing a WARN notice filed by Santander with the state of Pennsylvania), Santander is laying off 66 employees in its Villanova offices as part of the move.
But those won’t be the only layoffs that take place as part of the bank’s exit from TPO lending. According to the company, the move will lead to “approximately 80 job eliminations” in total.
“Santander Bank made the decision to exit the third-party originator sales channel within our home loans business. This change will allow Santander to focus exclusively on providing home loan solutions to customers through our mortgage development officer sales force throughout our 600+ branch network,” the company said in a statement provided to HousingWire.
“This change in our business model will lead to approximately 80 job eliminations for colleagues who support the third-party sales channel,” the company added.
According to the company, it plans to offer severance to the affected employees and may rehire some employees for other open positions.
“Any business decision that necessitates a reduction of staff is always difficult,” the bank said in its statement. “Santander will fully support our colleagues impacted by these changes in accordance with the company’s severance policy and will offer outplacement assistance. In addition, we are encouraging all impacted employees to apply for open roles that are currently available in the Villanova location.”
