Rising Delinquencies Spur Demand for Default Skills.

NEW YORK -- With many subprime mortgage shops closing their doors in recent months, it would seem that finding a job in the sector might pose a challenge.

But most of the jobs being cut are in the origination sector and the challenges facing the subprime industry are actually increasing demand for some servicing positions, according to a leading employment recruiter for the industry.

Rick Glass, president of R.T. Glass and Associates, Sacramento, has helped many of the largest subprime firms meet their recruiting goals. He said that while the B&C mortgage production sector suffers from overcapacity at the moment, servicers continue to be in a hiring mode.

"We are extremely active on behalf of some of our clients," he told National Mortgage News.

On the servicing side of the business, executives with expertise in information technology and loss mitigation remain in especially high demand, Mr. Glass said.

And the emergence of Wall Street integrators as major players in the servicing sector of the nonprime mortgage industry also is fueling changing employment demands. Those Wall Street firms that traditionally package and sell mortgage-backed securities are seeking vertical integration by acquiring nonprime mortgage originators and servicers.

Those firms want to exercise more control over the cost of acquiring assets for securitization and the performance of those assets that back securities.