For the second time in as many months, a major national lender is moving to hire as many as 1,000 new employees as the gap between the haves and have-nots in mortgage lending appears to be growing.

Last month, it was loanDepot that announced it plans to hire more than 1,300 new loan officers to its team by the end of the year.

Now, it's New American Funding's turn. The mortgage lending company announced Wednesday that it plans to add almost 1,000 new jobs by the end of this year.

The hiring push will bring the company's current number of employees, 2,982, to a total of nearly 4,000. According to the company, the hires will impact 209 branches, five call centers, and the company’s corporate headquarters in Tustin, California.

“We are excited to be adding almost 1,000 jobs to keep fueling our tremendous growth,” said Patty Arvielo, president of New American Funding. “Our commitment to innovation has led to the development of an impressive suite of cutting-edge tools and resources to help our team work even smarter.”

The hiring sprees at loanDepot and New American Funding are in stark contrast to recent layoffs at companies like Live Well Financial, Ocwen Financial, Wells Fargo, and others.

Founded in 2003, New American Funding now has branches in 41 states. Earlier this year, New American Funding was listed as #11 of the best places to work in the financial services industry.

Last November, New American Funding was listed as the 30th best place for a woman to work. In 2017 and 2018, its president and co-founder, Patty Arvielo, was named a HousingWire Woman of Influence.

Through the company’s STEP (Specialized Training Empowering People) program, new hires undergo a complete corporate training curriculum. 

A major component of STEP is Launch Lab, a series of rigorous online and on-site training courses for prospective loan officers who are new to the industry or experienced mortgage professionals who want to transition into a different role.