M&T to Hire 600 B of A Workers as It Takes Over Mortgage Center

M&T Bank (MTB) will take over the lease at a Buffalo-area mortgage facility that Bank of America (BAC) plans to close this spring, according to a report.

The handoff will reduce job losses from the planned May 31 closing of the Getzville, N.Y., facility, the Buffalo News reported Monday. M&T will hire at least 600 of the 1,200 workers at the mortgage servicing center, while Bank of America plans to transfer another 100 to other locations, the banks told the paper.

M&T also take over the rights to a pool of securitized mortgages that Bank of America has been servicing. BofA sold the rights to an unidentified buyer, who then subcontracted them to M&T, the paper said. An M&T spokesman declined to identify the owner of the pools of mortgages or the size of the package of loans, but called it "substantial," according to the Buffalo News.

Bank of America said that it is shutting down the center because the number of delinquent homeowners is declining, regional president Kevin Murphy told the paper. The lease runs through 2014.

M&T said that it will try to find positions at other part of the company for the approximately 500 employees set to lose their jobs. The bank has 329 positions open in the region, it said. Also, both Citigroup (C), which has a mortgage servicing facility nearby, and insurance company Geico are hiring in the area, the paper said.

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