Wells Fargo to cut staff
Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest U.S. home lender, plans to cut 2,300 jobs in mortgage production, including 365 jobs at the company's offices in Birmingham, Ala. The San Fransisco-based bank said demand for refinancing loans has dropped and is likely to slow as interest rates rise. The cuts comprise about 20 percent of Wells Fargo's mortgage lending staff. Franklin Codel, head of mortgage production for Wells Fargo, said loan demand has fallen in half.
"We've had to recalibrate our business to meet customers' needs -- and to ensure we're operating as efficiently and effectively as possible," Codel wrote in a memo to employees. "Unfortunately, displacements within our team are necessary."
Traynor to head Chattanooga Combined Federal Campaign
TVA Senior Vice President Dan Traynor will chair this year's Combined Federal Campaign, the fundraising drive for federal employees in the 21-county Chattanooga region. Traynor, head of TVA's information technology division in Chattanooga, will help kick off the 2013 campaign on Sept. 17 with the theme, "Neighbors helping neighbors." Last year's campaign raised more than $1.9 million for local and national charities.
"Federal employees in this area have always given generously to the CFC in both their time and money," Traynor said. "They know the impact their gifts can have in benefiting their neighbors and communities."