The mortgage industry hasn’t exactly roared back to life this summer, but Boston-based Eastern Bank is nonetheless making a targeted expansion in its mortgage department with three new hires.

Lissette Morales, Mealea Chan-Polcari and Ellen Klapper, all mortgage loan officers, will be joining the institution according to a recent announcement. Morales and Chan-Polcari will add to the bank’s Merrimack Valley employees and will help the bank work with underserved Hispanic and Cambodian markets there, respectively, said John Brodrick, senior vice president of mortgage banking.

"Those are two very important markets in the area," he said. "We were looking for the right people with the right experience level."

Both speak the languages of those respective markets, Brodrick noted, providing an opportunity to grow in the underserved areas of Merrimack Valley. Eastern Bank is increasing mortgage staff at a time when the housing market remains sluggish, but a slow market is not not deterring the bank from planning for the future.

Morales, a Lawrence resident who spent 12 years at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union working as an assistant treasurer/loan center manager, will work in Eastern Bank’s office on Center Street in Lowell.

Chan-Polcari, a Lowell resident, previously worked as a licensed real estate associate for Zip Realty. Prior to that, she served as the director of community investments for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. In her new role, she’ll be responsible for covering the Merrimack Valley and surrounding area, including Chelmsford, Lowell, Westford, Billerica, Carlisle and Tyngsboro.

Another new hire, Newton resident Klapper, worked for nine years as a home mortgage consultant for Wells Fargo and was a loan officer at PNC Mortgage for five years. She will work in Newton and cover Newton, Brookline, Wellesley, Needham and Weston.