Career moves

Meridian Capital Group, New York, has named Chad Johnson managing director of its commercial originations group. As an officer of the firm he will be originating loans nationally. He will work out of the firm's newly formed office in Kansas City, Kan. During his career, Johnson has worked for GMAC Commercial Mortgage, UBS, Deutsche Bank and Wachovia.

Sandler O'Neill Partners LP hired Carlos Mendez to lead its new structured finance group and assist in sales and trading of mortgage-backed securities and other fixed-income products. Mendez joins the firm from Institutional Credit Partners LLC where he was senior managing director in the capital markets division. Sandler O'Neill also hired as managing directors in the new group: Joshua Eaton, Andrew Mauritzen and Chris Howley. Eaton most recently was general counsel and co-chief operating officer of Dune Capital Management LP, where he served in an advisory role on the acquisition of IndyMac Federal Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Mauritzen and Howley also were managing directors at Institutional Credit Partners.

Broward Bank of Commerce, Fort Lauderdale, said it has launched a new residential lending division, giving its customers access to the purchase and refinancing markets. The Florida bank, which has been in business for less than two years, named Regina Blanz senior vice president in charge of the effort. During her career she has worked at Minto Communities and Pointe Federal Savings Bank. Broward Bank, which boasts no delinquent loans, has $77 million in assets. The launch of the new residential unit "reflects the bank's mission to be responsive to our customers' needs and fits our vision for strategic growth," said Broward president Keith Costello.

A second former Republican presidential candidate has become a spokesman for a reverse mortgage originator. Former Sen. Fred Thompson, who represented Tennessee from 1994 through 2003, and who ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2008, is the new spokesman for American Advisors Group, Irvine, Calif. Thompson is also well known for his acting, with roles in a number of movies and most notably playing Manhattan District Attorney Arthur Branch in the NBC television series "Law & Order." He is also an attorney and radio show host. Among other politicians who have become reverse mortgage company spokesmen is Jack Kemp, who was secretary for Housing and Urban Development in the George H.W. Bush administration. Kemp became a spokesman in 2008 for Generation Mortgage Co., Atlanta. A former pro football player, Kemp sought the Republican nomination for president in 1988 and was the vice presidential candidate in 1996.

Paul Peters, the former president of Hibernia Bank's mortgage division, has joined residential mortgage advisory firm KLS Consulting LLC, dba Mortgage Banking Solutions. Peters, who will be a senior mortgage consultant at MBS, will run a national practice focused primarily on bank and credit union-owned mortgage operations. He will advise banks and credit unions on cross selling, risk mitigation, and regulatory compliance issues, among others. In addition to being the former president of Hibernia's mortgage division, Peters also was president of Capital One Mortgage N.A. for two years after the latter company acquired the former.

Clayton Holdings, a mortgage analytics provider, has hired Brian R. Clark as senior managing director and chief business officer in charge of commercial real estate. During his 15 years in the business, Clark has worked for both depositories and investment banks, including stints at Merrill Lynch, and ING. At Merrill he oversaw real estate "hybrids" in the firm's alternative asset group.

The latest well-known actor to become a spokesman for a reverse mortgage lender is Henry Winkler, whose best known role to members of the Baby Boomer generation was as "the Fonz" in the television sitcom Happy Days. He will be the public face of One Reverse Mortgage, whose parent company, Rock Holdings, also owns Quicken Loans. Jay Farner, chief executive of One Reverse Mortgage, describes Winkler as an actor with "integrity" he feels will be helpful in extending the company's reach with retirees and seniors. Happy Days aired from 1974 through 1984. Winkler played Arthur Fonzarelli, whose age during the show ranged from his late teens through early 20s. But today, Winkler is eligible to apply for a reverse mortgage, as he will turn 65 in October. A video featuring Winkler promoting One Reverse Mortgage can be found on the company's website at www.onereversemortgage.com.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has appointed Howard Esaki as managing director and head of its new global structured finance research department. Esaki most recently was with Morgan Stanley and previously led the mortgage research team at Moody's Investors Service. In addition, he formerly was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has hired Bill Killmer as senior vice president of legislative and political affairs, effective July 5. His appointment as chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill comes as the residential finance industry is at a crossroads, poised for the largest changes, perhaps, in its history. Killmer will be directly responsible for the development and implementation of legislative and political strategy for the trade group which has lost several hundred members during the mortgage crisis. He joins MBA from the National Association of Home Builders, where for the past 20 years he worked in a variety of senior positions including chief lobbyist.

Healthcare Trust of America Inc., a real estate investment trust headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., has appointed Kellie S. Pruitt to serve as its chief financial officer. She was the company's chief accounting officer and principal financial officer since Jan. 28, 2009. Prior to that, Pruitt served as HTA's controller. Before joining HTA, she worked at Fender Musical Instruments Corp. and at Deloitte & Touche LLP. "Kellie has played a vital and hands-on role in growing our organization and in establishing our self management team," stated Scott D. Peters, president and chief executive of HTA.

Willard B. Soper, a former mortgage industry executive who held top positions with MidCoast Credit Corp., Melville, N.Y., and J.I. Kislak Mortgage, Miami Lakes, Fla., in the mid-1990s, is the new president of Savings Bank of Maine, Gardiner, Maine. Soper is part of an investor group, SBM Financial Inc., that has agreed to recapitalize the thrift; it had been operating under a cease and desist order from the Office of Thrift Supervision because of undercapitalization. The new chairman and chief executive is John W. Everets, the former CEO of GE/HPSC. Among the members of the new board of directors are David J. Ott, former chief banking officer of Banknorth and Richard D. Field, a co-founder of Lending Tree.

Freddie Mac has promoted Mike McRoberts to oversee loan production and sales for its multifamily unit. Previously, the vice president was responsible for managing underwriting and credit approvals for Freddie's multifamily debt investments. "In his 18 years at Freddie Mac, Mike has proven himself to be a capable leader, who can form teams that deliver strong results," said Mike May, Freddie senior vice president of multifamily. "He knows the business well and has great credibility with customers and industry groups." McRoberts replaces vice president Mitchell Kiffe, who left the GSE to work for CB Richard Ellis as a senior managing director for multifamily loan production. Freddie guaranteed $16.6 billion of multifamily loans in 2009, giving it a 37% market share.

Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group, hired Jeffrey Sommers to help grow the firm's business with depositories and mortgage bankers. Sommers will hold the title of senior account executive and focus on lenders in the central Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey regions. Radian said Sommers is a 30-year veteran of mortgage banking.

Scott Norman has been elected president of The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association in Austin, Texas. TMBA will focus on legislative and regulatory goals in the residential mortgage space, including establishing a statewide standard to promote financial literacy. The association consists of member firms originating over $35 billion in closed loans annually. A long-time Austin mortgage banker, Norman has been actively involved in state and federal government for over 20 years as a Capitol staffer and lobbyist. He founded the Texas Association of Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association in 1999, and served on the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association Board of Directors from 2005 until 2009. Currently, Norman manages the retail reverse mortgage operations in Texas for MetLife Bank.

PHH Corp. on Monday named industry veteran Luke Hayden president of its mortgage division, effective immediately. In a statement PHH said Hayden replaces Mark Danahy, who left the nonbank lender/servicer to "pursue other opportunities." At press time the company had not returned telephone calls concerning Danahy's departure. According to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report, the Mount Laurel-based PHH Mortgage is the nation's ninth largest servicer with $151 billion in receivables. It ranks eighth among funders. PHH Mortgage also is one of the largest private label lenders in the nation. During his 30-year career in mortgage banking, Hayden has worked at Chase Home Mortgage, GMAC Mortgage, and Renaissance Investment Trust.

Callan Associates, San Francisco, said that Sally Haskins joined the firm as a senior vice president in the real estate consulting group. In her new role, Haskins will assist in growing the firm's real estate consulting business. "This is an important step forward in the evolution of our real estate consulting business," said Jamie Shen, senior vice president and alternative investments consulting practice leader at Callan Associates. Haskins joins Callan Associates from ING Clarion where she was a director in the client service and marketing group.

GMAC Inc. may be close to naming a chief financial officer and has considered appointing Barbara Yastine, the former CFO for investment banking at Credit Suisse Group AG and Citigroup Inc., according to a report by Bloomberg. The news service cited "three people with knowledge of the search" but a GMAC spokesman called the story "speculative," adding that it is not making "any management announcements at this time. Jim Mackey continues to serve as interim CFO, and the company continues to move forward with its strategic priorities." Yastine, 50, is considered a prospect because she worked at Citigroup with Michael Carpenter, GMAC's new chief executive. GMAC and its mortgage affiliate both posted a profit in the first quarter. The company is considering its options on Residential Capital Corp., including a possible sale of stock to the public.

Industry veteran Rudy Orman has resigned as vice president of Marathon Asset Management, a New York-based private equity fund that invests in distressed residential whole loans and mortgage-backed securities. At press time Orman and officials at Marathon declined to comment on the situation. His departure became official on Friday. Two weeks ago National Mortgage News reported that an affiliate of Marathon was selling about $90 million in distressed whole loans. During his career in mortgages Orman has worked as a vice president at Goldman Sachs & Co. and at lending firms as well. In a statement Orman would only say that he will become a director and senior vice president of business development at Residential Credit Solutions.

BlackBox Logic, a mortgage analytics firm that provides loan-level collateral data for non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, has hired former trader Cory Lambert as a senior analyst. Lambert joins BlackBox from Braddock Financial where he worked on the non-agency RMBS desk. "Cory's trading desk experience will be invaluable as we deliver customized loan-level data solutions for a wide variety of mortgage market participants," said BlackBox CEO Larry Barnett in a statement. In his new role, Lambert will build collateral analytics using BBx Data, a data service offered by BlackBox. The analytics firm was founded in 2007. CEO Barnett is a former managing director at Appix, where he was responsible for fixed income trading. He also spent 12 years at Fannie Mae, where he was vice president for secondary mortgage trading operations.

A longtime former rating agency residential mortgage-backed securities analyst has joined Digital Risk LLC in a move the company said reflects expansion plans in line with a renewed emphasis on private-sector involvement within the secondary mortgage market. Jenine Fitter, who most recently was vice president of sales, data/analytics and risk management solutions with First American CoreLogic (BasePoint Analytics), New York, is now senior vice president, client solutions at Digital Risk. Previous to joining First American, Fitter was a director in Standard & Poor's residential mortgage group and for 10 years prior to that she was a senior director in Fitch's residential mortgage group. In her new post, her focus will be on originators that use analytics as well as bond buyers and other securitization market participants.