When as many as 300 people were hired to process home mortgages applications in Billings last January, Wells Fargo bank was clear their jobs would be temporary.

Those jobs will end Aug. 13 as mortgage processing slows down nationwide and at the Wells Fargo loan-operations center at 2324 Overland Ave.

Cristie Drumm, vice president of Wells Fargo regional banking communications in Denver, confirmed the layoffs, but would not confirm the number of employees hired last January or facing layoffs next week.

"The (mortgage) business has been very, very strong because of low interest rates and the refinancing applications have been really high, but that is leveling off and we expect the (interest) rates to be slightly higher for next year," Drumm said.

The bank is adjusting its staffing to reflect that falling demand, she said. All of the employees knew their jobs were temporary and were told they would last from three to six months, she said. The work paid between $10 and $20 an hour, depending on experience.

Last spring, mortgage interest rates dropped to record lows and spurred robust demand from people trying to lock in a better deal on their mortgages. Demand also was fueled by an $8,000 federal incentive for first-time homebuyers. To handle the demand, the bank set up the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Center in Billings.

Drumm also couldn't say whether the bank's other mortgage loan centers will experience layoffs.

Unlike mortgage processing, the home-equity loan division in Billings is not impacted, she said.

"Billings is a national center, so they process home equity applications from all across the country," she said.

The recent boom in mortgage applications followed a recession in U.S. housing, the deepest in decades.

Between November 2007 and February 2008, 60 Billings employees were laid off from the Wells Fargo Home Equity Loan Servicing Center because of the housing slowdown.

On Thursday, Wells Fargo also announced a round of executive bonuses.

The bank said it was paying $4.7 million in stock to Chief Executive Officer John G. Stumpf, whose annual salary will stay at $900,000. Stumpf also will receive 108,528 restricted shares that will be vested in two years and cannot be sold until Wells Fargo pays back the $25 billion it accepted in U.S. bailout funds.

Three other bank executives will split another $9.08 million in company stock for a total executive compensation package of $13.78 million. In February, the bank suspended cash bonuses saying the executives hadn't met their performance goals, according to Bloomberg.

In May, the bank announced it would pay nearly $313 million to the U.S. Treasury in quarterly dividends on stock issued in connection with the bailout funds.

Last month, Wells Fargo reported record earnings for the second quarter, in large part because it purchased Wachovia, another troubled bank. However, the bank still must raise another $25 billion in capital to meet the requirements of the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Congress and some state attorneys general are investigating banks that pay out executive compensation before repaying the U.S. Treasury.

Contact Jan Falstad at jfalstad@billingsgazette.com or 657-1306.