JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said Tuesday it will hire a total of 1,200 new mortgage loan officers through the end of 2010 across the nation as the bank continues to work through waves of mortgage refinancings and a housing market on the mend.

Chase said the company’s 1,200 new hires will be based in bank branches in 23 states, including metro areas in which Chase currently does not have a branch footprint. It will increase the size of Chase’s mortgage lending force by 60%.

“We need to ensure each branch has seasoned mortgage professionals to help meet the needs of their communities and is well positioned when the housing market fully recovers," said Dave Lowman, head of Chase’s home lending division.

JPMorgan was considered one of the few major survivors of the subprime mortgage crisis, being the key buyer of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual when both those banks failed. 

CEO Jaime Dimon has publicly previously said that one of the most important actions his bank and other competitors can do is work on refinancing the millions of mortgages that are now at risk of foreclosure or in default

Shares of JPMorgan were up 20 cents to $44.35 a share.