125K Broker Loan Reps in Jeopardy?

Some 125,000 loan reps who work for mortgage brokers are likely to lose their jobs and 18,000 brokerage firms will probably shut down by the middle of next year, according to a partner in the Columbia, Md.-based research and consulting firm Wholesale Access."Given the current environment, survival should be everyone's goal," consultant Tom LaMalfa told the Illinois Association of Mortgage Brokers earlier this month. His talk was re-printed in the newsletter Holm Mortgage Finance Report. Some who blame brokers for the mortgage meltdown may see the analyst's prediction as the perfect antidote for what ails the market, but Mr. LaMalfa laid the blame squarely on Wall Street, saying this is the third time in 20 years that the Street has "pillaged MortgageLand." Investors throughout the world "got shafted by the guys from Wall Street," he told the IAMB. The consultant advised brokers to get out of subprime and refis and move swiftly into purchase-money mortgages that fall within the conforming loan limit. Otherwise, he said, they won't survive. "If someone doesn't want to operate in the agency space, there's no market for their services," he said.