Career moves

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has elected Jim Pair to be its president for 2009-2010. The announcement came at the trade group's midyear meeting in San Antonio. Mr. Pair, who is from Corpus Christi, Texas, succeeds Marc Savitt, who remains as an officer of the group as immediate past president. The new president-elect is William Howe, Scottsdale, Ariz., who moves up from vice president. The brokerage industry is facing an uphill battle for survival thanks to the credit crisis and the blame placed on third-party originators for poor credit quality. Wholesale production now accounts for about 15% of all fundings compared to 28% three years ago, according to National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

Brenda White, an investment banker who brokered some of the largest mortgage-related M&A deals of the past 15 years, died Sunday after a two-year battle with a rare form of cancer. Born in Monmouth County, N.J., in 1954, she is survived by her husband Tim and a daughter, Adrienne. Ms. White began her career at Dun & Bradstreet, and eventually worked at MBS pioneer Salomon Brothers. In 1994 she was named managing director, head of investment banking to the mortgage industry. According to a statement released by her family, her promotion at Salomon was "perhaps her proudest professional achievement." During her career she also held M&A advisory positions and worked at UBS and Deloitte & Touche before starting her own M&A boutique. Over the years she authored several M&A related articles in industry trade publications including NMN sister publications Mortgage Servicing News and American Banker.

The Senate has confirmed Herbert Allison by voice vote to be a Treasury assistant secretary and run the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which is providing loans and capital to stabilize banks, insurance companies and automakers. The former Fannie Mae president and chief executive also will oversee the Obama administration's loan modification program. TARP is providing funds for incentive payments and to cover some of the costs of the modifications. During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Allison told the Senate Banking Committee there is a "great deal of pressure on everyone" to get the Making Home Affordable program going. He stressed that efforts to reach out and contact troubled homeowners will be critical to its success. "People are fearful about losing their homes; fearful of contacting their bank or servicer to describe their problem — for fear that it is going cause a foreclosure on their house," he testified. Prior to his brief stint at Fannie Mae, Mr. Allison was chairman, president and CEO at TIAA-CREF.

Former Sovereign Bank chairman and chief executive officer Jay Sidhu has been named chairman and CEO of New Century Bank, Phoenixville, Pa. Mr. Sidhu, who left Sovereign in 2006, has since been working as industry consultant and also set up a private equity firm called Sidhu Capital Partners. Spain's Madrid-based Banco Santander currently owns Sovereign.

PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J., has a new chairman and a new acting chief executive as the incumbents in those positions lost their reelection bids and seats on the company's board. George J. Kilroy is taking the acting chief executive officer post, replacing president and CEO Terence W. Edwards. Mr. Edwards will serve as an advisor to the company for up to six months. The board will conduct a search for a permanent president and CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates. Mr. Kilroy is president and CEO of PHH Arval, the company's fleet management services business. Replacing A.B. Krongard as chairman is James O. Egan. Mr. Egan was first named to the board on March 30 and won a full-three year term in the recent election. He was a managing director of Investcorp International Inc. between 1998 and 2008. Investcorp is the parent company of SourceMedia, which owns National Mortgage News.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is losing yet another lobbyist, the second such departure in the past week. The trade group confirmed to NMN that Meghan Sullivan, who specializes in state mortgage-related legislation, will be leaving at the end of June. She holds the title of director of state legislative affairs. Her departure leaves MBA with just one manager to oversee state bills: Chris Oswald. The trade group said it has lobbyist/consultants "on the ground" to represent it in state capitals. "These are not staff people but consultants," she said. Earlier this week it was revealed that Francis Creighton, MBA's liaison on Capital Hill, was leaving to take a job with a Congressman. MBA will hire a replacement for Ms. Sullivan.

The nomination of David Stevens to be the new Federal Housing Administration commissioner appears to be in limbo while HUD investigates a RESPA complaint against his previous employer. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is conducting an investigation of Long & Foster — a mid-Atlantic real estate brokerage firm — for possible Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act violations. At a Senate Banking Committee meeting this past week, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., noted the HUD investigation is ongoing. "We don't know who is involved or what. We are waiting to see what comes out of the investigations," Sen. Shelby said. Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said the nominee "comes highly recommended" for the FHA post. During his career Mr. Stevens also worked in executive positions at Freddie Mac and Wells Fargo Home Loans. Sen. Dodd urged caution and indicated he would like a bipartisan vote in moving the nomination along for confirmation by the full Senate. HUD general counsel Helen Kanovsky told Senators Dodd and Shelby in a letter that the RESPA complaints filed against Long & Foster neither "names nor alleges the personal involvement of David Stevens."

Former Freddie Mac chief executive Gregory J. Parseghian is one of two dissident candidates to win election to the board of PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J. Mr. Parseghian was a nominee submitted by Pennant Capital Management LLC, Chatham, N.J., which owns just under 10% of PHH's stock. The other candidate Pennant supported, Allan Z. Loren, also was elected; Pennant materials describe him as an executive coach to CEOs and as the former chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet. The pair defeated A.B. Krongard, who had been PHH's chairman, and Terence W. Edwards, its president and CEO. Reelected to the board is James O. Egan, the audit committee chairman. Pennant Capital Management LLC is an investment advisor that was founded by Alan Fournier in 2001.

Former Freddie Mac chief executive Gregory J. Parseghian is one of two dissident candidates to win election to the board of PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J. Mr. Parseghian was a nominee submitted by Pennant Capital Management LLC, Chatham, N.J., which owns just under 10% of PHH's stock. The other candidate Pennant supported, Allan Z. Loren, also was elected; Pennant materials describe him as an executive coach to CEOs and as the former chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet. The pair defeated A.B. Krongard, who had been PHH's chairman, and Terence W. Edwards, its president and CEO. Reelected to the board is James O. Egan, the audit committee chairman. Pennant Capital Management LLC is an investment advisor that was founded by Alan Fournier in 2001.

David Palombi, Freddie Mac senior vice president of corporate and marketing communications, has resigned from the GSE. Mr. Palombi, who also worked at Riggs Bank of Washington during his career, has accepted a position with WellPoint Inc. of Indianapolis, a health benefits company. He joined Freddie Mac in 1997. The GSE has been operating under a government conservatorship since the fall.

Francis Creighton, a top lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, is departing the trade group to take a job on Capital Hill, National Mortgage News has learned. A source familiar with the matter said Mr. Creighton, a vice president who is MBA's top liaison with elected officials, has accepted a chief of staff position with Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. He informed the trade group of his plans last Friday. He will officially depart MBA within a few weeks. Mr. Creighton was promoted to VP in late 2006. He previously served as director of government affairs for MBA. During his career he also worked as a legislative director to Rep. Steve Israel of New York.

The Obama administration's Making Home Affordable loan modification program will not show real results until later this summer, according to a key regulator. Federal Housing Finance Agency director James Lockhart told a Congressional panel the impact of the MHA program will be delayed as the servicers register for the program and contractually agree to the program's terms and conditions. "Second, borrowers are required to submit the required documentation, be approved for a modification, and successfully perform under a three-month trial modification before the loans can be formally modified. Therefore, FHFA expects to see the results of current activities ramp up in late summer," Mr. Lockhart testified. Separately, Herbert Allison, President Obama's nominee to be Treasury assistant secretary and run the Troubled Asset Relief Program, told the Senate Banking Committee that 14 servicers are already active in the MHA program and they have sent modification offers to 100,000 homeowners. TARP is providing funds for incentive payments and to cover some of the modification costs. "There is a great deal of pressure on everyone" to get this program going, Mr. Allison said at his confirmation hearing. But he stressed it going to take time to ramp up. Mr. Allison recently served as president and chief executive of Fannie Mae.

Eric Martinez Jr. has been named chief executive of United Guaranty Corp., Greensboro, N.C., by parent company American International Group Inc., New York. In a statement, AIG said former president and CEO William V. (Billy) Nutt has left the company, but it did not disclose the reason. Mr. Martinez has worked with AIG since January 2009 in a variety of positions, including a leadership role at AIG Global Real Estate. For the past two months, he has led a comprehensive strategic review for UGC. Prior to joining AIG, Mr. Martinez was executive vice president — claims, customer care and business operations for Safeco Corp., Seattle.

Eric Martinez Jr. has been named chief executive of United Guaranty Corp., Greensboro, N.C., by parent company American International Group Inc., New York. In a statement, AIG said former president and CEO William V. (Billy) Nutt has left the company, but it did not disclose the reason. Mr. Martinez has worked with AIG since January 2009 in a variety of positions, including a leadership role at AIG Global Real Estate. For the past two months, he has led a comprehensive strategic review for UGC. Prior to joining AIG, Mr. Martinez was executive vice president — claims, customer care and business operations for Safeco Corp., Seattle.

LendingSpace, the developer of web-based loan origination software for reverse and forward mortgages, has named Jeffrey Osheka president. Mr. Osheka has over 20 years in the industry working for companies such as Lydian, Decade Systems, Ultraprise/GHR and Fidelity Mortgage Funding. As president of LendingSpace, Mr. Osheka is responsible for directing the company's current growth, with an emphasis on the rapidly expanding reverse mortgage market.

Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs has been named as the new non-executive chairman of GMAC Financial Services, Detroit. Mr. Hobbs is currently an advisor to One Equity Partners LLC, which manages investments and commitments for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in direct private equity transactions. Previously, he was the chief executive of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. During his career, he also held the position of chairman at UBS AG's Warburg Dillon Read unit. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. Besides Mr. Hobbs, Michael A. Carpenter and Mayree C. Clark have been appointed to the GMAC board. Mr. Carpenter is chairman of Southgate Alternative Investments, while Ms. Clark is a member of the investment committee for Aetos Capital Asia, which manages the firm's $6 billion in investments in Japanese and Chinese real estate. Other members of the reconstituted board at GMAC are its CEO Alvaro G. de Molina, Cerberus appointee Stephen Feinberg, Robert T. Blakely and Kim S. Fennebresque, both of whom are appointees by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Erika Poethig has been named deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research. Ms. Poethig currently serves as the associate director for housing in the program on human and community development at the John D. and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Foundation, where she focuses on regional policy and practice, housing policy and research, and on the $150 million special initiative for the preservation of affordable housing. Prior to her current position, she was the assistant commissioner for policy resource and program development at the City of Chicago's Department of Housing.

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman L. William Seidman, who also headed the thrift bailout agency during that industry's darkest days, passed away on May 13. He was 88. During his years of public service he worked in the Ford White House as the president's assistant for economic affairs. From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Seidman served as the 14th chairman of the FDIC. Under President George H.W. Bush, Mr. Seidman was tapped to head up the newly created Resolution Trust Corp., and eventually sued the president's son, Neil Bush, for his alleged role in the collapse of Silverado Savings of Colorado. (The younger Mr. Bush eventually settled the case out of court.) According to The American Banker, Mr. Seidman was lionized for the key role he played in cleaning up the S&L industry. The newspaper noted that he was "a constant voice on regulatory matters long after his retirement."

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman L. William Seidman, who also headed the thrift bailout agency during that industry's darkest days, died Wednesday. He was 88. During his years of public service he worked in the Ford White House as the president's assistant for economic affairs. From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Seidman served as the 14th chairman of the FDIC. Under President George H.W. Bush, Mr. Seidman was tapped to head up the newly created Resolution Trust Corp., and eventually sued the president's son, Neil Bush, for his alleged role in the collapse of Silverado Savings of Colorado. (The younger Mr. Bush eventually settled the case out of court.) According to The American Banker, Mr. Seidman was lionized for the key role he played in cleaning up the S&L industry. The newspaper noted that he was "a constant voice on regulatory matters long after his retirement."

Jefferies Group of New York has hired Andrew Peisch as co-head of mortgage- and asset-backed securities banking and origination. Up until recently Mr. Peisch was head of structured credit products banking and origination for the Americas at Deutsche Bank.