By SHAWN A. TURNER
6:00 am, October 16, 2006

Seeing it as their opportunity to stake a bigger claim in Northeast Ohio's mortgage lending market, some companies have begun hiring lenders as bigger players have pulled back.

Among them is Westfield Mortgage, a unit of the Westfield Group financial services company in Westfield Center. It has hired eight mortgage lenders at its Independence office so far this year, doubling its size. And the company is considering adding another office in Cuyahoga County, too, said Tom Fraser, director of Westfield Mortgage and vice president of Westfield Bank.

Westfield now employs about 15 people in its Independence mortgage office, which opened in 2003. The hires are "seasoned professionals" in the mortgage industry, though Mr. Fraser declined to say from which companies the additions came. Mr. Fraser said the company markets itself to potential customers in the county through partnerships with builders and real estate agents.

It's a curious time to make a splash in the local mortgage market, considering the already crowded banking field in Northeast Ohio and the retreats some banks have made with their mortgage divisions.

For example, Cleveland's two biggest banks, KeyCorp and National City Corp., have signaled their intentions to reduce their mortgage exposure. National City on Sept. 5 announced it was selling its subprime lending unit, First Franklin, for $1.3 billion to Merrill Lynch & Co. Meantime, Key in August said it is mulling a sale of its Champion Mortgage unit.

Still, Robert Huxtable, co-founder of banking recruiter Socius Search LLC in Cleveland, said he has noticed more mortgage companies upping their recruitment efforts now that the housing market has cooled.

"Westfield's not the only name out there," Mr. Huxtable said. "There are lots of mortgage banks that are getting pretty aggressive, more than they have been in the past."

A couple of banks doing business locally can attest to that statement. Ron Bower, director of recruiting at Ohio Savings Bank, said his company has added a dozen loan originators at its branches. With mortgage demand declining as interest rates rose, some lenders have pulled back, he said.

"You can get a bigger piece of the pie," Mr. Bower said.

Also, the Cleveland mortgage banking office of Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank is in the hunt for workers. The bank currently has five openings in its mortgage group, which employs more than 70 workers, said spokeswoman Janette Petro.

"We feel there's opportunity," Ms. Petro said. "We're not overly aggressive, but we feel like we can get some business here."

Like Mr. Bower, Mr. Fraser said Westfield views a mortgage pullback by banks he declined to identify as an opportunity for his company to grab a larger share of the mortgage market. He said research his bank has completed on the Northeast Ohio housing market indicates it remains inviting.

"There are a lot of houses on the market," he said. "Our research shows the demand for purchases is near all-time highs."

Charles R. Crowley, managing director of investment banking with Ryan Beck & Co. in Pepper Pike, agreed that there's money to be made in the mortgage business locally even though refinancing activity has all but stopped.

"There is still a fair amount of movement (to new homes by buyers) regardless of economic conditions and the interest rate environment," Mr. Crowley said. "There will always be a reasonable business in this market.

"I'm sure they don't have delusions of grandeur of taking out Third Federal or National City," Mr. Crowley added, in reference to Westfield.

Also, Mr. Crowley said it's easier to recruit mortgage executives during a business slowdown.

"A new player can potentially hire some good people and make inroads," he said. Layoffs typically make more mortgage officials available when the business slows, Mr. Crowley said, and those who aren't laid off tend to be quicker to jump to a competitor.

Mr. Fraser said recruiting hasn't necessarily gotten easier lately. Rather, he said, the mortgage officials hired were impressed with Westfield's business, the revenues of which Mr. Fraser declined to discuss.

Further expansion might be in the cards for Westfield, Mr. Fraser said. In addition to hiring several more people, mostly mortgage originators, the company is considering adding an office in the southeast or southwest suburbs of Cleveland.

"That will be driven by where we're getting our business," he said.

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