Chase Hiring 800 New LOs by End of '06

Chase Home Finance, Iselin, N.J., says it plans to hire 800 new loan officers by the end of next year, more than half of which will reside in bank branches.If Chase follows through, its LO staff will increase by 30% from current levels. National Mortgage News reported in September that Chase was planning a major LO expansion, quoting co-chief executive officer Tom Wind. Chase Home Finance is owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Last year JPM bought Bank One, Chicago, giving the combined institution 2,500 bank branches. The new LOs that are not assigned to a bank branch will work out of some 225 Chase Home Finance offices. JPMorgan Chase can be found online at http://www.jpmorganchase.com.