JPMorgan Chase To Sell Melbourne Mortgage Banking Program

JPMorgan Chase announced it will sell Melbourne mortgage banking, reported Florida Today.

According to a representative of JPMorgan, the decision came as a result of the improving housing market based on homeowners ability to pay mortgages on time. The the bank would not need to allot more resources to aid homeowners, reported Today.

The mortgage banking and borrower assistance program employs 400 people, the program is being sold to Wingspan Portfolio Advisors.

The history of Melbourne started with Washington Mutual, also known as WaMu, who opened the operations in July 2003 at a Walmart to originally provide loan processing services for WaMu branch banks. Short-lived as it was, it grew. But due to the housing and banking market fall, WaMu had to file for receivership and Melbourne had to be handled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., FDIC,  Melbourne was then sold to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 Billion.  

Wingspan, the soon-to-be-owner, is based in Dallas and was founded in 2008. Wingspan generally partners with banks, mortgage insurers, and real estate agents among others across the country and specializes in reverses non-performing loans into performing assets, according to the partner in an interview with Today.

"By entering into an agreement with Wingspan, we're able to provide employees with continuity of employment," said Eric Schuppenhaur, an executive at the center of Chase's mortgage banking servicing and borrower assistance branch, reported Florida Today. "It's a great opportunity to take care of our employees and offer their value and experience to a company that's building a strong servicing platform.

"Our people will be the cornerstone of that business," he said.

The transaction is expected to take place on Feb. 25. As far as the 400 employees go, Wingspan's chief executive officer and president, Steven Horne, released a statement to clear that up:

"I'm sure what most of you are thinking right now is 'How does this affect me? Do I have a job? Do I have the same salary? Do I have benefits? The answers are yes, yes and yes. Basically, your role, the work that you do, your salary, your supervisor - all stay the same. And your benefits will be comparable."