Wachovia cuts back mortgage lending-report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp WB.N, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, will stop making mortgage loans through its branch offices in 19 U.S. states, a published report said.

The bank will eliminate 125 jobs in connection with the cutback, but still plans to offer mortgages through branches in 18 other states, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Wachovia did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The latest cuts extend the fallout from the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank's failed $24.2 billion purchase in 2006 of California mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp.

A surge in mortgage losses contributed to an overall $8.86 billion second-quarter loss at Wachovia. They were also a key reason the bank in June ousted Ken Thompson as chief executive. Robert Steel, a top U.S. Treasury Department official, was named in July to replace Thompson.

Wachovia is eliminating more than 10,700 jobs and plans to reduce expenses by $2 billion by the end of 2009. In July, it said it had already eliminated 2,000 retail mortgage jobs this year, and planned to cut 4,400 more over 12 months.

Shares of Wachovia closed Friday up 81 cents at $17.93 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have fallen 53 percent this year.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)