Career moves

Terry Lindsey, a division manager at Chase since 2005, has been promoted to national sales manager of correspondent sales. Chase also reported that it recently hired Tim Bernard to serve as the producing sales manager for its Pacific Northwest region. In addition, the company announced the promotion of the following account executives to regional sales managers for their territories: Drew Parrish, Carolinas and Georgia; Rob Porges, Florida; Nicole Williams, Texas; Dan Sheehy, Mid-Atlantic; and Holly Rittenhouse, California.

Countrywide Financial Corp., which is slated for sale to Bank of America, has lost its chief information officer, Richard K. Jones -- a 12-year veteran of the lender -- to technology giant Fiserv Inc. On Friday Fiserv said it had hired Mr. Jones to be its CIO and executive vice president. At Countrywide, Mr. Jones also held the title of managing director. A publicly traded company, Fiserv sells information and technology systems to mortgage lenders, servicers, and other types of financial institutions. The companies can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com and http://www.fiserv.com.

Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman, chief executive, and founder Angelo Mozilo is entitled to a severance package of about $112 million if he leaves the company, according to a report put out by Equilar, an executive compensation company. Last week Bank of America agreed to buy the nation's largest lender and servicer for $4 billion. To date, no mention has been made about Mr. Mozilo's role with a Countrywide-owned BoA. His Countrywide employment contract stipulates that his reign as CEO will end in 2009, but he would remain as a nonexecutive chairman. If BoA decides not to keep him on as CEO, or he chooses to retire, his severance package would kick in. Basing its information on a year-old proxy statement, Equilar says Mr. Mozilo is entitled to a severance package of $88 million plus retirement benefits of $24 million. At deadline time, Countrywide could not be reached for comment. Over the past few yeas Mr. Mozilo has sold well over $300 million worth of Countrywide stock, converting options into cash. His stock sales are the subject of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In past interviews he has maintained that all his stock sales were disclosed and done according to SEC rules.

David W. Lindstrom, president and chief executive officer of Franklin Bank, has been elected to a two-year term as chairman of the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. In addition, Michael M. Horn has been elected to serve the remaining term, through Dec. 31, of the current vice chair. Mr. Lindstrom has been serving as vice chair since 2005. Mr. Horn has been a partner since 1990 in the Newark, N.J., office of the McCarter & English LLP law firm, the FHLBank said. The New York FHLBank provides services to financial institutions in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It can be found on the Web at http://www.fhlbny.com.

Gregory S. Tornquist, president of Cenlar FSB, has been named to the additional position of chief executive officer of the savings bank, which specializes in subservicing mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Mr. Tornquist, who is also president of Cenlar Capital Corp., joined Cenlar in 1987. He became chief financial officer in 1998, executive vice president in 2004, and president in 2006, the company said.

James Cayne, the chairman and CEO of Bear Stearns -- once a major player in the subprime mortgage market -- is expected to relinquish his chief executive title. As of MortgageWire's deadline, a spokesman for Bear had not returned a telephone call about the matter. A few weeks ago, Bear laid off all remaining account executives who once worked in the Irvine, Calif., office of Encore Credit Corp., a subprime wholesaler that it had merged into its mortgage group. Among those let go was Shabi Asghar, who served as president of ECC. Mr. Cayne, according to combined news reports, is expected to remain as chairman. In years past Bear has been a top-ranked securitizer of subprime loans and, like many investment banking firms, has taken large writedowns on its holdings. This past summer, two subprime-related hedge funds managed by Bear filed for bankruptcy protection. Bear Stearns can be found online at http://www.bearstearns.com.

Doug Lebda, president and chief operating officer of IAC, has been named chairman and chief executive officer of the company's financial services and real estate businesses, including LendingTree, HomeLoanCenter, GetSmart, RealEstate.com, Domania, and iNest. C.D. Davies, CEO of LendingTree, and Bret Violette, president of RealEstate.com, will report to Mr. Lebda, who joined IAC in 2003 after the company acquired LendingTree. IAC announced in November that it plans to separate itself into five publicly traded entities (including LendingTree). The company said the latest announcement was the first in a series that will deal with the structure for each of the separate entities. IAC, Lending Tree, and RealEstate.com can be found online at http://www.iac.com, http://www.lendingtree.com, and http://www.realestate.com.

Tom Fiddler and John Manglardi have been named executive vice presidents of sales growth and development at Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif.The company said they will work together on strategic initiatives in Countrywide’s retail division, including enhancing technology and pricing strategies and spearheading growth in the government loan program segment. Mr. Manglardi served most recently as president of retail east sales for American Home Mortgage, where he shared sales and operations management responsibilities with Mr. Fiddler. He previously served as founder and president of First Home Mortgage, which he co-owned with Mr. Fiddler. Mr. Fiddler was most recently executive vice president for American Home Mortgage. In addition to co-owning First Home Mortgage with Mr. Manglardi, he also previously owned his own brokerage firm, Legacy Financial Inc. Countrywide can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.

Michael Commaroto, who oversees the mortgage group at Deutsche Bank (including its whole-loan trading desk), is leaving the firm effective Jan. 1, according to industry sources.At deadline time, Mr. Commaroto, who is listed in Securities and Exchange Commission documents as president of Deutsche Mortgage Securities, had not returned a telephone message. A spokeswoman for DB also could not be reached. One source, requesting that his name not be used, said significant changes are coming to Deutsche Bank's mortgage trading operation. Last year, DB bought MortgageIT, a fast-growing mortgage banking firm that funded nonprime and prime loans through different production channels. Deutsche Bank can be found online at http://www.deutsche-bank.com.

The ailing NovaStar Financial, one of the last of the remaining subprime shops, says its co-founder, chief executive, and chairman Scott Hartman will resign effective Jan. 3.Also departing is Greg Metz, senior vice president and chief financial officer. Lance Anderson, another co-founder who serves as president and chief operating officer, will assume the CEO and chairman duties. Vice president Rodney Schwatken will assume the CFO duties. Messrs. Hartman and Anderson founded the publicly traded real estate investment trust in 1996. NovaStar recently sold its $15 billion servicing portfolio (estimated) to an affiliate of Morgan Stanley & Co. for $175 million in cash. NovaStar is no longer funding subprime loans and, like many nonconforming funders, has laid off most of its production staff. It can be found online at http://www.novastarmortgage.com.

Guy Arnold has been named president of Dividend Capital Total Realty Trust Inc., a Denver-based real estate investment trust.Mr. Arnold replaces Jim Giuliano, who had been serving as president on an interim basis. In addition, John Biallas has resigned as chief operating officer and been named chief financial officer. Before joining Dividend Capital, Mr. Arnold was a partner and managing director of Cherokee Investment Partners and co-managed the firm's Denver office. He was previously vice president of Colorado & Santa Fe Land Co., a commercial real estate company.

Former mortgage bond executive Jeff Kronthal has returned to Merrill Lynch as a consultant, the company has confirmed.Mr. Kronthal will be advising the firm on issues that include portfolios in the subprime mortgage and collateralized debt obligation areas, a spokeswoman said. He left the company in 2006 in the wake of subprime mortgage concerns.

Larry Goldstone, president and chief operating officer of Thornburg Mortgage Inc., has been promoted to president and chief executive officer.Garrett Thornburg, previously chairman and CEO of Thornburg Mortgage, will remain chairman of the board and continue to be actively involved in the company, Thornburg Mortgage said. Before co-founding Thornburg Mortgage, the 53-year-old Mr. Goldstone was senior vice president and treasurer of Downey Savings and Loan. He previously held a variety of positions at Great American Bank, including senior vice president. Thornburg Mortgage, a real estate investment trust that focuses mainly on the jumbo segment of the adjustable-rate mortgage market, can be found online at http://www.thornburg.com.

Cassius Cade IV has been named senior vice president and western regional sales manager for Capital Markets Cooperative, a provider of consulting and risk reduction services based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.Mr. Cade will be responsible for opening up the U.S. West Coast to CMC, the company said. Mr. Cade has more than 20 years of mortgage banking and capital markets experience. He served for six years as vice president and regional sales director for ABN Amro Mortgage Capital Markets Group. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Cade was regional sales director for Tuttle & Co., and from 1994 to 1998, he served as first vice president in institutional sales for Principal Financial Securities Inc., according to CMC.

Irwin Financial Corp., a mortgage banker and home equity lender based in Columbus, Ind., has announced that it will eliminate the position of executive vice president held by 31-year company veteran Thomas D. Washburn as of Dec. 30.As of that date, the 60-year-old Mr. Washburn will assume the title of vice chairman to help the company shift his responsibilities to others by June 30, 2008, Irwin said. His current direct responsibilities as chairman of the company's three lines of business will be transferred on Dec. 30 to Irwin chairman and chief executive William I. Miller. The company said Mr. Washburn's separation agreement includes payment to him of approximately two times his current base salary and target bonus, among other things, and is expected to cost the company approximately $1.1 million. The company can be found online at http://www.irwinfinancial.com.

CapLease Inc., a New York-based real estate investment trust, has announced the retirement of mortgage industry veteran Lewis Ranieri as its chairman, citing "family circumstances."Paul McDowell has been elected chairman and will continue as CapLease's chief executive officer, the REIT reported. Mr. Ranieri, widely viewed as the father of the mortgage-backed security, will continue as a senior adviser to the company. He had been chairman of the company and its predecessor entities since 1995.

John Fisk has been named chief executive officer of the FHLBanks Office of Finance, the debt issuance facility of the Federal Home Loan Banks, effective Jan. 1.Mr. Fisk has served as the No. 2 executive in the Office of Finance since May 2004, and is currently responsible for managing all day-to-day functions. He will succeed CEO and managing director John K. Darr, who has led the Office of Finance since 1992 and plans to retire on Dec. 31. Mr. Fisk will also become chief operating officer and president of both the Financing Corp. and the Resolution Funding Corp. on Jan. 1. Before joining the Office of Finance, Mr. Fisk was executive vice president of strategic planning at MGIC, and he previously held various capital market and mortgage positions over 17 years at Freddie Mac. By the time he left in 2000, he was executive vice president for the single-family mortgage business.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has announced the promotion of Steve O'Connor to senior vice president of government affairs, the post previously held by Kurt Pfotenhauer, who is leaving the MBA to become chief executive officer of the American Land Title Association.Mr. O'Connor will be responsible for managing the public policy and advocacy efforts of the association. He was previously senior vice president of public policy. Mr. Pfotenhauer will take the reins at ALTA on Jan. 7. The organizations can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagebankers.org and http://www.alta.org.

Metrocities Mortgage LLC, a mortgage lender based in Sherman Oaks, Calif., has announced that its founder and chief executive officer, Paul Wylie, will step down.Dick Loeffler, chief operating officer of Prospect Mortgage Co., will serve as interim CEO upon Mr. Wylie's departure, and executives Lynette Hale-Lee, Virginia Martinez, Anna Ruotolo, and Harry Tomlinson will collectively manage the sales organization, Metrocities said. Mr. Wylie founded Metrocities in 1989. The company said he was instrumental in arranging the strategic investment in Metrocities by Sterling Partners, a private equity fund based in Chicago and Baltimore, which recapitalized the company and gave a majority interest to Prospect Mortgage, a portfolio company of Sterling. Metrocities can be found online at http://www.metrocities.com.

Renan Levy has been named president and chief operating officer of Intellidyn Corp., a Boston-based provider of direct response marketing and multichannel database marketing systems.Intellidyn said Mr. Levy worked most recently with n2N Commerce developing advanced electronic commerce systems for large e-retailers including The Limited. He was previously a partner at Halo Group International, and COO and chief executive officer of KaBloom. Intellidyn CEO Peter Harvey touted Mr. Levy's "strong background in business analytics and intelligence practices, and vast experience within the retail, e-commerce, online services, and multichannel contact center industries." The company can be found on the Web at http://www.intellidyn.com.