Career moves

Thomas J. Hammond is retiring as chairman of both Flagstar Bancorp Inc. and its subsidiary Flagstar Bank FSB, Troy, Mich., the latest step in the ownership shift in the company. On October 1, Mr. Hammond's son, Mark Hammond, stepped down as president and chief executive, and was replaced by Joseph P. Campanelli. Mark Hammond remains as vice chairman of the company. In a statement, Thomas Hammond said, "It has been approximately 10 months since the acquisition of Flagstar Bank by the new majority owners. The new CEO has strong banking experience and understands the decisions necessary for Flagstar to be competitive in this business environment." Flagstar's board will meet shortly to elect a new chairman.

Tim Mankus, a 22-year veteran of Wells Fargo & Co., who ran the mega-bank's mortgage trading desk, is out in the cold after a shakeup at the company. Gary Westphal, who reported to Mr. Mankus, was appointed to a new role where (according to one company official) he will oversee an array of mortgage activities that includes trading and "spans the full length of asset sales from pricing through pooling and delivery." As part of this shakeup the bank named Mohan Chellaswami to head its global market risk effort. Mr. Westphal will carry the title senior vice president of capital markets, the same title he held prior to Mr. Mankus' departure. A spokesman for Wells' mortgage group gave no reason for the reorganization. Mr. Mankus, who was based in St. Louis, could not be reached for comment on his cell phone.

Barbara Desoer, president of Bank of America's residential mortgage division, increasingly is being talked about as a candidate for the bank's CEO slot, according to industry officials. However, Ms. Desoer declined to answer questions about the post. A spokesman for the bank's mortgage division in Calabasas, Calif., said she was asked the question by certain members of the media at last week's Mortgage Bankers Association convention in San Diego but repeatedly declined to discuss the issue. One source close to the unit described Ms. Desoer as a "dark horse" candidate. He noted that if she leaves the mortgage division it "would create a bit of musical chairs in the old CW [Countrywide] organization." BoA's current CEO, the embattled Ken Lewis, is scheduled to retire at yearend. Ms. Desoer has been managing the bank's mortgage and insurance division for more than a year. Bank of America ranks second in residential originations but first in servicing, according to the Quarterly Data Report.

iServe REO, which helps lenders dispose of their residential real estate assets, has named William Mueller its new chief executive effective immediately. iServe is a subsidiary of National Asset Direct, Inc., San Diego, an advisory firm that caters to the distressed loan market. Mr. Mueller joins iServe from National Default Servicing where he was vice president of REO.

NetMore America, Inc., Walla Walla, Wash., a fast growing mortgage banking firm, has named David Shirk chief information/compliance officer. According to the company, Mr. Shirk brings 20 years of experience to the newly created position. For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, NetMore originated more than $1 billion in new home mortgages - a 300% increase compared to the same period in 2008. For fiscal year 2010, the mortgage banker is projecting loan production of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion. According to the Quarterly Data Report, NetMore ranks 75th among all home funders.

George Schwartz, a former managing director for Bank of America, has been named executive vice president and division president of default services at ServiceLink, a unit of Fidelity National Financial, Jacksonville, Fla. Mr. Schwartz will be responsible for such items as loss mitigation, title, closing and escrow, valuations, asset management and disposition. Mr. Schwartz has more than 25 years' experience in the areas of default administration, loss mitigation and mortgage servicing. Prior to his tenure at Bank of America, Mr. Schwartz served as senior vice president, loan administration at Cenlar FSB, director of servicing management at Fannie Mae and EVP of real estate operations at FNRS Financial Corp. For more information about ServiceLink, visit http://www.servicelinkfnf.com.

Peter Graves will be the new celebrity spokesman for reverse mortgage lender American Advisors Group, Irvine, Calif. The television campaign will launch on Oct. 12, 2009 and coincides with the reverse mortgage originator's release of a new informational DVD, brochure and website launch. Mr. Graves is best known for his role as Jim Phelps, the team leader on the television show "Mission Impossible." His new role might be just as difficult as some of Mr. Phelps' activities. Consumer advocates such as the National Consumer Law Center are decrying marketing tactics used by reverse mortgage lenders such as the use of celebrity spokespeople. In the past, Senior Lending Network used the late Jerry Orbach and Robert Wagner; Generation Mortgage used the late Jack Kemp, former pro football player, member of the House of Representatives, vice presidential candidate and Housing and Urban Development secretary; while James Garner was a spokesman for Financial Freedom.

Robert Grosser, former chief executive of Cityscape Financial, an early high flyer of the subprime business of 1990s, has been named president of Luxury Mortgage, Stamford, Conn. Luxury is buying Homestar Direct, a mortgage firm that Mr. Grosser formed in 1999 after the publicly traded Cityscape filed for bankruptcy protection. Homestar's origination platform focused on consumer direct marketing utilizing diverse channels to reach target borrowers. Homestar is becoming part of Luxury in an asset acquisition transaction. Mr. Grosser will work with Luxury's CEO David Adamo on the overall day-to-day management of the firm with a focus on the following areas: new business opportunities, regulatory/compliance, accounting, human resources, vendor management, facilities management, capital planning, capital raising, strategic planning and risk management. Cityscape was based in Elmsford, N.Y.

The SAFE Act is putting nondepository mortgage lenders at a disadvantage to banks when it comes to hiring new loan officers, according to Scott Stern, chief executive of mortgage cooperative Lenders One. The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act passed by Congress in July 2008 requires LOs joining an independent mortgage company to go through prelicensing and continuing education requirements mandated by the states. "It is a huge barrier to hiring new loan officers," Mr. Stern said, because LOs hired by banks don't face prelicensing and continuing education requirements and don't pay licensing fees. Like stockbrokers, he said there should be one nationally recognized prelicensing course and one nationally recognized continuing education course for all loan officers. "We believe all lenders that meet with consumers should be licensed," the Lenders One CEO said. Mr. Stern is forming an advocacy group called the Community Mortgage Lenders of America that has membership commitments from 140 mortgage banking companies and community banks. He has lined up BuckleySandler LLP to serve as regulatory counsel for the new trade group and the Glaser Group to be its Washington lobbying arm.

Vital Financial has named long-time mortgage technologist Cy Brinn as a principal. Previously, he was the president of Metavante Lending Solutions. Going forward, using Mr. Brinn's market knowledge, Vital will find, analyze and structure private equity and venture capital investments in areas including mortgage technology. Mr. Brinn is also a finalist for the 2009 Mortgage Technology magazine Steve Fraser Visionary Award, which goes to a technology visionary and evangelizer. The award ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 11, at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association being held San Diego.

Steve Abreu is the new president of GMAC's mortgage operations, working out of the company's Fort Washington, Pa., office. His most recent position was president and chief executive of GreenPoint Mortgage Funding of California. (GreenPoint, a subsidiary of a bank, closed two years ago.) Mr. Abreu is a 20-year veteran of the mortgage banking industry. He will report to Thomas Marano, chairman and CEO of GMAC's mortgage operations. Mr. Marano recently assumed additional responsibilities as GMAC's chief capital markets officer, coordinating the firm's capital commitments, risk analytics and broker/dealers. The hiring of Mr. Abreu will provide ongoing, strategic focus for the firm's mortgage operations, GMAC said. Mr. Abreu will be representing the company at the upcoming Mortgage Bankers Association convention in San Diego.

Bank of America chief executive Kenneth Lewis — the man responsible for the bank buying both Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch — is stepping down at yearend. Late Wednesday BoA said its board is evaluating successors, with expectations of having the new CEO named by the time Mr. Lewis departs. Thanks to the Countrywide purchase, which closed last summer, BoA is the nation's largest servicer of home mortgages and second largest originator. His departure ends what has been a stormy 12 months for the handpicked successor to Hugh McColl Jr. In regard to the Merrill deal, Mr. Lewis tussled with regulators over the purchase (the bank almost backed out), and drew ire from shareholders and others over disclosure decisions over bonuses and losses at the investment bank late last year. (Merrill was a large player in the subprime ABS, CDO and warehouse lending market.) Mr. Lewis, 62, in his most recent pubic appearance, gave no indication that he might step down, instead using a Sept. 14 speech in Japan to sound a positive tone about the company and the global economy.

Joseph P. Campanelli has been hired as president and chief executive at Flagstar Bancorp Inc., Troy, Mich. Mr. Campanelli will replace Mark T. Hammond, who had served as Flagstar's president since 1995 and CEO since 2002. He is the former president and chief of Sovereign Bank and its parent Sovereign Bancorp Inc., Philadelphia. Mr. Campanelli said, "Flagstar has an excellent core franchise, a dedicated and skilled workforce and a strong market position originating and servicing residential mortgages. We have a great future ahead of us." For the second quarter, Flagstar was the nation's 11th largest originator with volume of $9.3 billion, according to the Quarterly Data Report. The QDR lists Flagstar as the nation's 18th largest servicer as of June 30, 2009, with a portfolio of $61.5 billion.

Former mortgage banker Walter C. Klein, who managed such lenders as First Nationwide Mortgage and Sears Mortgage during his long career, died this past Monday after a battle with renal carcinoma. His age was not immediately available. In 2002 Citigroup purchased Frederick, Md.-based First Nationwide and its bank parent. Mr. Klein stayed for a few months in a transition mode and then moved on. During his career he also worked as an executive consultant at Cerberus Operations and Advisory Co. and Aztec American Bank. His wife, Patricia, a daughter and two grandchildren survive him.

CitiMortgage, in yet another reorganization move, has terminated its residential production chief, Brad Bunts, a 13-year veteran of the company. Also let go was Jeffrey Walker, head of national sales. A memo provided to National Mortgage News confirmed the dismissals which were described by CitiMortgage CEO Sanjiv Das as a way for the lender to simplify its "reporting structure." In the memo both men were described as valuable members of the CitiMortgage team. Mr. Brunts oversaw CitiMortgage's entire origination business. In their place, the bank-owned mortgage company named Ed Abufaris to lead its correspondent channel and Fred Bolstad to manage the consumer mortgage channel. Both will report directly to Mr. Das. According to the Quarterly Data Report, CitiMortgage ranked fourth nationwide in residential fundings in the second quarter with $31 billion, a 2% decline from the same period last year. It also is the nation's fourth largest servicer of home mortgages.

The correspondent and warehouse lending division of Ally Bank, a unit of GMAC Financial Services, has created a correspondent community bank team that will purchase closed residential mortgage loans from banks, thrifts and credit unions. The new unit also will offer a table funding service — which means loan brokers should benefit. An executive with GMAC said the new unit will focus on community financial institutions that outsource some or all of their mortgage origination process. It will customize services to supplement the client's in-house capabilities. The Fort Washington, Pa., based company said it saw an opportunity in this line of business because market conditions have reduced funding alternatives for smaller institutions. Doug Miller is joining GMAC as the director of correspondent community banking. He held a similar position at Taylor Bean Whitaker, which filed for bankruptcy protection in August.

American Home Bank will now purchase seasoned, high-quality, residential mortgage loans from financial institutions and other portfolio holders. The company has created a team based in Fort Lauderdale, headed up by Maylin Casanueva. Most recently she had a similar role at Redwood Financial Services; also she has been the director of transaction management and due diligence services for CoreStates Securities and Meridian Capital Markets. Other members of the team have experience in banking, mortgage banking and capital markets. James Deitch, managing director of American Home Bank, said the new business helps sellers "augment their capital base and increase liquidity, while at the same time provide them with efficient trade execution." American Home Bank is the mortgage division of First National Bank of Chester County, West Chester, Pa.

Freddie Mac has named veteran banker Ross J. Kari as its permanent chief financial officer, making him the latest member to join the GSE's new senior executive leadership team under recently appointed CEO Charles E. Haldeman. His appointment is effective October 12. Mr. Kari comes to the GSE from Fifth Third Bancorp, Cincinnati, the nation's 16th largest residential funder of home loans, according to the Quarterly Data Report. During his career he also has held management positions at the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and Wells Fargo & Co. Last month Freddie named mortgage industry veteran Bruce Witherell its chief operating officer. When he was appointed in July, Mr. Haldeman expressed his eagerness to build an experienced management team at Freddie.

The mortgage insurance division of Genworth Financial has created three new senior management positions, filling the posts with current executives. Jacqui Pearce was named senior vice president and chief operations officer with Rohit Gupta being named senior vice president and chief commercial officer. Jim Bennison was named senior vice president of strategy and capital markets. Mr. Bennison will work on issues dealing with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Mountain Funding LLC has appointed Arthur Nevid to be its chief investment officer and to spearhead the national real estate investment company's plans to acquire $1 billion of distressed real estate debt portfolios over the next two to three years. He also will serve as managing director of the Charlotte, N.C., company's special servicing affiliate, which currently manages $1 billion in mortgage debt on 90 commercial properties. Since 1997, Mr. Nevid has served as Mountain's managing director of lending and investment. Prior to joining Mountain Funding, Mr. Nevid was the U.S. executive managing director of a French-owned development company based in New York City, and a real estate investment banker and asset manager at Merrill Lynch Hubbard.