700 mortgage company jobs headed to El Paso; average salary $48,500
The Pacific Union Financial mortgage company could have expanded in Arizona or California. But company officials said they chose the Borderland because of its diverse workforce and a unique partnership between the city of El Paso, El Paso County and The Borderplex Alliance.
The company will expand into El Paso in 2018, bringing 700 new jobs with an average salary of $48,500.
Some of the types of jobs will be loan officers, loan analysts, mortgage underwriters, operation managers and sales. Not all of the jobs will require a college education.
The CEO of Pacific Union Financial, Evan Stone, joined city, country and Borderplex Alliance officials at a news conference on Monday.
“I think when we look at the work force, the makeup of the work force in El Paso, you combine that will a city, county, Borderplex government here that is hellbent on making sure that the resources, the training resources, the recruiting resources are provided, to aid us in our ability to develop careers and opportunities for folks here, it felt like a genuine partnership. That was really key for us; that it wasn’t lip service,” Stone said.
“Big day. I mean we are talking 700 jobs at a minimum with an average wage of over $48,000. We haven’t had that type of announcement in I don’t know how many years. They are going to make investments here; they are going to provide a tax base for us. It is tremendous,” said El Paso Mayor Dee Margo.
Margo said those 700 jobs would be created within a five-year period. The proposed location for the El Paso expansion is 12 Founders Blvd near the El Paso International Airport.
During a special City Council meeting on Monday, representatives approved a tax incentive package for Pacific Union Financial. It includes a 10-year, 100% incremental city property tax rebate, five-year impact funding, construction materials city sales tax rebate and development permit fee rebates. The potential incentive amount is $332,836.
“It’s very minimal. Normally you would expect a lot more in an incentive package for what they are bringing to the table. But what we have shown is that historically for every dollar in incentive that we are providing, we get $4.95 back. So we are way ahead of the curve,” said Margo.
“People will be buying homes, people will be into secure careers providing for their families. The economic spinoff is going to be incredible. And anytime a community like ours can take 700 jobs with an average salary of $48,500, it’s a day to celebrate, and we are certainly doing that today,” said Jon Barela, CEO of the Borderplex Alliance.
Stone believes his company will help people looking for a high-paying job and those who have been cut out of the home-buying process.
In an interview with NerdWallet, Stone said, “Our typical client is a low down payment customer, so typically an FHA customer. We deal with people that have oftentimes more challenging credit profiles.”
“So we believe it’s people helping people. People who are bilingual can help others who are bilingual to own homes, understand what financial tools are available to them, to be able to do that. We are really looking forward to starting that in a very unique place,” Stone said.
Pacific Union Financial ranks among the top 10 mortgage companies in the country. The company has more than 40 branch locations across the country and loan fulfillment centers in Texas, California, Virginia and North Carolina.
