In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Wells Fargo & Co. CEO John Stumpf said the company will help borrowers struggling to make payments.

“We try very hard to keep those customers in those homes,” he said.

The second-largest U.S. mortgage lender will look at loan terms on a case-by case basis and could consider modifying the terms rather than foreclosing on a property, Stumpf said. Possible measures include permanently reducing interest rates, refinancing the loan or postponing one or two payments.

Between 1998 and September 2006, mortgage lenders made about 6 million subprime loans, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Now about 2.2 million subprime borrowers could lose their homes, the center estimates.

Though Wells Fargo is willing to help its customers, lending experts say that this message doesn’t always reach employees, some of whom are staying firm on loan terms.

In related news, employees of mortgage companies are also in danger of losing their jobs. Josh Rosner, managing director at the New York investment research firm Graham Fisher & Co., said as many as 20 percent of U.S. real estate loan officers and mortgage brokers will be fired, in addition to the 10 percent reduction from December 2006 to July.

At least 100 mortgage companies have sought buyers or halted lending since early 2006, according to Bloomberg News. The mortgage volume could drop to $1.8 trillion next year after peaking at $4 trillion in 2003, said Moshe Orenbuch, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group.