Mortgage shakeout.

Half a million people employed in the mortgage business across the country took notice as Ameriquest Mortgage Co.'s parent company ACC Capital announced it was planning to fire 3,800 people and close 229 branches.

The number of loans throughout the industry is continuing to fall, and some experts are predicting that up to a fourth of the people working in the mortgage business may end up looking for new jobs in the coming year. There are plenty of signs that the market is grinding down and last month the Federal Reserve indicated it would probably raise interest rates one more time.

Calabasas-based Countrywide Financial Corp., along with other mortgage giants, has been increasing its business, however, as smaller companies are shutting their doors. Countrywide Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo has been predicting a slowdown in the industry for months. But during a conference call at the end of April, Mozilo said that the decreasing level of competition and prices coming back down to earth can only be good for Countrywide.

Staff reporter Jonathan D. Colburn can be reached at [phone] or by email at [e-mail].