Career moves

The Florida State Legislature has no mortgage brokers as members, but five members of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers hope to change that with their candidacies. Four of the five candidates spoke at the group's annual convention in Kissimmee, Fla. Nancy Detert, who had been term-limited out of the state House of Representatives and ran second in a Republican primary for an open seat in Congress, is seeking election to the state Senate. She proposed using state affordable housing trust fund money as a soft second mortgage to help "work force people" qualify for a mortgage. The other four broker candidates are seeking seats in the state House, including D. Ritch Workman, the current FAMB president. Mr. Workman said he is running as a small businessman who is fed up with intrusions into business by federal and state legislators and regulators. The other candidates are Debbie Mayfield, Rafael Perez, and Terry Lynn Sanchez.

Real estate industry veteran Robert Hellman has been named managing director of real estate at David Landau & Associates, a consulting firm based in Fairfield, N.J. Mr. Hellman was most recently managing director with The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, a real estate capital advisory firm. He was previously a principal with Newmark Capital Group, where his responsibilities included investment sales, restructuring, and M&A services. Before joining Newmark, Mr. Hellman spent 16 years at Lehman Brothers, where he served as president or chief executive officer for several public real estate funds.

R&G Financial Corp., a bank holding company based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has announced the resignation of Andres I. Perez, executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Aug. 1. Melba Acosta, R&G Financial's executive vice president for corporate risk management, will act as interim CFO while the company undertakes a search for a new one. Ms. Acosta will also continue in her current position, which she has held since 2006. She was previously senior vice president and chief administrative officer of the company from 2004 to 2005. Before joining R&G Financial, Ms. Acosta served from 2001 to 2004 as executive director and chief information officer at the Office of Management and Budget of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.rgonline.com.

Advantus Capital Management, St. Paul, Minn., has announced the launch of a high-yield mortgage investment strategy and the hiring of Dean Di Bias as the portfolio manager to oversee it. Mr. Di Bias was most recently with GMAC-RFC in Bloomington, Minn., where he was managing director and senior vice president of credit portfolio management. "The timing to enter this market is excellent because spreads have widened substantially on residential and commercial mortgage securities rated AAA to BB-minus," said Chris Sebald, executive vice president and chief investment officer at Advantus. "Yield spreads on many mortgage securities are very wide, creating substantial value." Advantus said the securitization markets have been so damaged by fallout from the housing downturn that the company believes premiums to invest in the sector "will remain attractive for some time to come." Advantus can be found online at http://www.advantuscapital.com.

Justin Ailes has been named director of government affairs at the American Land Title Association. Mr. Ailes will focus on enhancing the association's partnership with state land title associations, serve as liaison between the title industry and state government, and assist ALTA's senior management at the federal level. Before joining ALTA, Mr. Ailes was deputy federal representative for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. He formerly served as a staff member for U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., and legislative assistant in the Indiana State Senate.

Ernst & Young has announced that 30-year real estate industry veteran Howard Roth has been named E&Y's global and Americas director of real estate. Mr. Roth, who previously headed the Northeast real estate practice of Ernst & Young US, will coordinate a network of 5,000 real estate professionals around the world from the organization's Global Real Estate Center offices in New York. He replaces Dale Anne Reiss, who retired on June 30. Mr. Roth said the Global Real Estate Center will focus on worldwide infrastructure development and privatization, sustainability and responsible property investing, and the credit slowdown, among other things. Ernst & Young can be found on the Web at http://www.ey.com.

Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia, has announced the resignation of its president, David Applegate, and several other changes at the top of the organization. Mr. Applegate will remain with Radian as a consultant for the foreseeable future. Stepping in as president is Teresa Bryce, who had been Radian Group's executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief risk officer. Paul Bognanno has been promoted from vice chairman of Radian Guaranty to chairman. Jeff Cashmer, senior vice president of mortgage insurance sales, is the new executive vice president and chief operating officer of Radian Guaranty, and Ted Hoffman, currently senior vice president and assistant general counsel will become Radian Group's general counsel and corporate secretary. Ms. Bryce and Mr. Hoffman report to S.A. Ibrahim, Radian Group's president and chief executive, while Mr. Bognanno and Mr. Cashmer report to Ms. Bryce. Ms. Bryce's priorities will include returning the mortgage insurance subsidiary to the AA level, and she has "extensive experience working with the GSEs, which will continue to be one of our top priorities," Mr. Ibrahim said.

Citigroup on Tuesday named Sanjiv Das CEO of its residential lending division, CitiMortgage of O'Fallon, Mo., the nation's fourth largest originator. He replaces Bill Beckmann who stepped down in June to spend more time with his family. Mr. Das returns to Citigroup after holding executive positions at Morgan Stanley and Bank One. In the 1990s, he worked for Citigroup in a number of positions, including chief of its global mortgage products group.

Downey Financial Corp. - which has seen its non-performing assets rise in recent months - said it has "terminated" Frederic R. McGill as president of the holding company and its thrift affiliate, Downey Savings and Loan Association. No reason was given for his departure. Based in Newport Beach, Downey's NPAs (as a percentage of total assets) totaled 14.3% in May compared to 13.2% in April and 1.3% a year earlier. In connection with his dismissal the S&L will make a $900,000 lump sum payment to him. According to Downey, he has agreed "not to solicit any employees, consultants, customers or suppliers of the bank for a period of one year following termination of his employment." Among residential lenders Downey ranks 39th nationwide, according to the Quarterly Data Report.

Fred Melgaard has been named executive vice president of DRI Management Systems, a provider of mortgage default management technology based in Newport Beach, Calif. His primary responsibilities include managing major client relationships, customer relations, sales, and marketing. DRI said Mr. Melgaard is a 19-year industry veteran who joined the company from Harland Financial Solutions, where he has served in various capacities since 1999, including vice president of servicing products and customer experience. He previously spent six years in senior management positions at several technology firms, including MaestroSoft, where he was president and chief executive officer. DRI can be found online at http://www.dridefault.com.

The Senate has confirmed Joseph Murin to be the new president of Ginnie Mae and Elizabeth Duke to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board. Mr. Murin was the owner and managing partner of Mortgage Settlement Network from 2004 through August 2007. The Pittsburgh-based company provides title, appraisal, and closing services. President Bush nominated the mortgage industry veteran to the Ginnie post back in October. The Senate also confirmed Ms. Duke, a Virginia community banker, so the Federal Reserve Board would continue to have five voting members once Fed governor Frederic Mishkin steps down on Aug. 31. The seven-member board currently has two vacancies. "In confirming Elizabeth Duke to a term through 2012, we are ensuring the Fed can function during these difficult economic times," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Rodney A. Montag has been named an executive managing director of the recently formed Cantor Real Estate LLC, according to New York-based Cantor Fitzgerald LP. Launched in May, the group is pursuing investment opportunities in select real estate sectors (including distressed real estate investment loans) with "a value-add focus on development and redevelopment assets," Cantor Fitzgerald said. Mr. Montag, who has over 20 years of real estate acquisition and development experience, will lead the venture along with executive managing director Andrew N. Stark, with whom Mr. Montag worked closely at WCI Communities for over 10 years.

J. Christopher Hoeffel has been named president of the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association for 2008-2009. Mr. Hoeffel, a managing director at JP Morgan Chase, succeeded Leonard Cotton, vice-chairman of Centerline Capital, at the conclusion of CMSA's June convention, the association reported. He has been on the CMSA board of governors for the past six years. Mr. Hoeffel joined JP Morgan Chase in June after the acquisition of Bear Stearns & Co., where he had been global co-head of the Commercial Mortgage Department. Mr. Hoeffel previously worked for Eastdil Realty Inc. in New York and Walker & Dunlop Inc., a commercial mortgage banking firm in Washington.

Kevin T. Kabat, president and chief executive officer of Fifth Third Bancorp, Cincinnati, has been given the additional title of chairman of the board. Mr. Kabat replaces George A. Schaefer Jr., who retired from the board June 17 as part of a succession plan that began with his retirement as CEO in April 2007. Mr. Schaefer joined Fifth Third Bank in 1971 and was named president and CEO in 1989, the company said. Fifth Third also announced the appointment of James P. Hackett as lead director. Fifth Third can be found on the Web at http://www.53.com.

Wendy Worcester has joined Thompson National Properties LLC, Irvine, Calif., as chief administrative officer. Ms. Worcester had been consulting for various start-up companies on forecasting, planning, accounting, and fundraising since 2007, Thompson said. She was previously chief financial officer at Rent.com from its start-up until its acquisition by eBay in 2005, and she held various positions with financial institutions such as Bank of America, Hawthorne Savings, and Ernst & Young. Thompson National, a provider of real estate investment opportunities and asset management services, can be found online at http://www.tnpre.com.

Robert F. Little has been named to head the Real Estate Finance Group of Babson Capital Management LLC, an investment management firm based in Springfield, Mass., and Charlotte, N.C., at the end of the year. Mr. Little, 42, will replace the retiring Kenneth Hargreaves, who has led the group since 1991 and has been with the firm's real estate business since 1972, Babson said. Mr. Little, who has been with the group since 1987, is currently responsible for the origination, structuring, and distribution of high-yield commercial mortgage products. His previous experience includes the development and oversight of the real estate group's capital markets area. Assuming Mr. Little's responsibilities will be Clayton "Chip" Andrews, who joined Babson in March and had been chief operating officer and partner at Cheslock, Bakker and Associates, a real estate merchant bank.

Philip M. Cedar has been named a partner in the financial services practice of the New York office of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP. Mr. Cedar joins K&L Gates from Bear Stearns, where he was a senior managing director in the company's legal department and a group practice leader for the mortgage- and asset-backed securities division. Mr. Cedar has counseled a wide array of financial institutions and professionals on matters such as structuring and securities trading and financing, the law firm said.

Rajinder Singh has been named to the newly created role of chief credit risk officer at GMAC Financial Services, the New York-based parent company of Residential Capital LLC. Mr. Singh joins GMAC from Genpact, where he served as head of global analytics services. He also spent four years at GE, where he was chief risk officer for GE Money Americas, head of risk management and decision sciences, and an officer of GE Capital. Mr. Singh also previously led risk management at U.S. Bancorp.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. has announced that 10 directors -- including three new directors who defeated nominees of the company's board -- were elected to one-year terms on Farmer Mac's board at the June 5 annual stockholders' meeting. The three new directors -- James R. Engebretsen, Clark Maxwell, and Brian J. O'Keane -- replace Timothy F. Kenny, Charles E. Kruse, and Ralph W. Cortese, respectively, who had been nominees of the board, Farmer Mac reported. Mr. Engebretsen is the MBA director and assistant dean of corporate relations and career services at the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University; Mr. Maxwell is a vice president and director of accounting policy and global accounting services at Chatham Financial Corp.; and Mr. O'Keane is the senior vice president and chief financial officer of AgriBank FCB, the largest of five banks in the national Farm Credit System. Farmer Mac, a government-sponsored enterprise, can be found on the Web at http://www.farmermac.com.

Donald J. Meyer has been named chief executive officer of American Mortgage Acceptance Co., New York, and elected to the board of trustees, effective July 1. Former AMAC CEO and trustee J. Larry Duggins will retire effective June 30 to attend divinity school at Southern Methodist University, the company said. Mr. Meyer will continue serving as an executive managing director and chief investment officer at Centerline Capital Group, AMAC's manager. AMAC can be found on the Web at http://www.americanmortgageco.com.