OceanFirst Bank will lay off more than 100 New Jersey employees as part of a plan to outsource its home mortgage operations.
Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025, the bank will partner with Embrace Home Loans, which will handle its home mortgage operations, Jill Apito Hewitt, senior vice president and director of corporate communications and marketing, said in a statement on Tuesday.
The change will result in lay offs of 114 employees, all of whom are based in New Jersey. The workers will all receive severance pay and career transition assistance, the company said in a statement.
OceanFirst bank said the decision comes as the entire residential mortgage industry is facing difficult competition.
“Residential lending has become dominated in recent years by large-scale wholesale mortgage companies and financial technology firms, prompting many banks to re-evaluate their mortgage business models,“ Hewitt said. ”By transitioning our residential loan origination business model to this strategic partnership, OceanFirst will continue our focus on growing the commercial bank with significant investments to drive growth and profitability.”
The company declined to comment further on the decision.
Mortgage rates have seen a slight decrease since the peak in October 2023, when the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.79%. The current average for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.26%, according to Freddie Mac.
OceanFirst Bank, headquartered in Toms River, has more than 40 locations in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland. Nearly 900 of its more 1,000-plus employees are based in New Jersey.