Career moves

John Bonfiglio, a group managing director at Fitch Ratings, has been named head of U.S. Structured Finance at the rating agency.Fitch said the appointment expands Mr. Bonfiglio's role to include executive leadership for the U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities group in addition to his responsibilities for the U.S. commercial MBS and U.S. asset-backed securities areas. He will also continue to lead Fitch's Global Performance Analytics working group. Mr. Bonfiglio joined Fitch in 1993, was co-head of Fitch's commercial mortgage group from 1997 to 2000, and was responsible for the residential mortgage group from 2001 to 2004, the rating agency said. In 2004, he took over Fitch's commercial mortgage, real estate investment trust, and asset-backed groups. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Michelle Minier, an 11-year veteran of IndyMac Bank, has assumed full duties as chief executive officer at the bank's reverse mortgage subsidiary, Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp., Irvine, Calif., as part of a management succession plan announced in July 2006.Since then, Ms. Minier has been sharing co-CEO responsibilities with Jim Mahoney, who will stay on as chairman of the board. Before joining Financial Freedom, Ms. Minier served as executive vice president in charge of Central Mortgage Operations and continues to be a member of IndyMac Bank's Executive Committee, IndyMac said. She was previously assistant controller, president of warehouse lending, and executive vice president and president of business-to-business lending at the company.

Mary Kelsch, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, has been named to oversee the newly merged U.S. RMBS Servicer Rating and Originator Review teams of Fitch's Operational Risk Group."Consolidating the two [residential mortgage-backed securities] Operational Risk teams under a single manager will allow the synergy needed during this cycle in the industry," said Diane Pendley, a Fitch managing director. "The quality of origination, uniqueness of products, and issues such as early payment defaults and fraud greatly impact the actions of the servicer. In reverse, the servicer's ability to monitor and report on these issues, as well as to contain or control defaults and losses they may cause, should be brought back into the review of the originators' platforms." Ms. Kelsch, a 10-year veteran of Fitch, was instrumental in developing the company's RMBS servicer rating program, the rating agency said.

Flushing Financial Corp., Lake Success, N.Y., has announced the retirement of Robert Callicut, senior vice president of Flushing Savings Bank's Residential Real Estate Mortgage Department.Mr. Callicut is a 43-year veteran of the banking industry, and has been with Flushing Savings for 11 years, Flushing Financial reported. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.flushingsavings.com.

Three key Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee have criticized Fannie Mae and its regulator for approving a 25% pay raise for the government-sponsored enterprise's president and chief executive officer, Daniel Mudd, who received $14.4 million in compensation last year."We are quite surprised that the board of Fannie Mae would sign off on this compensation package at a time when they have paid $1.4 billion in accounting and consulting fees to clean up their financial mess, and they are still two years behind in financial reporting," says a statement issued by GOP Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, John Sununu of New Hampshire, and Mel Martinez of Florida. (Sen. Martinez is a former housing secretary.) Mr. Mudd received base pay of $950,000 in 2006, plus a $3.5 million bonus and 176,506 shares of restricted common stock. (In recent days Fannie's stock has been trading at $56. Based on that figure, the restricted stock would be worth $9.8 million.) "We are equally surprised that the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight approved this pay raise," the three said. The senators have asked OFHEO for an explanation.

John Vella has been named president and chief executive officer of EMC Mortgage Corp., Lewisville, Texas, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Cos.Mr. Vella, who joined EMC as president and chief operating officer in March 2006, replaces former chairman and CEO Ralene Ruyle, who announced her retirement in December. (Ms. Ruyle will officially retire at the end of May.) Before joining EMC, Mr. Vella served as the president and COO of Aames Investment Corp., chief sales officer and chief administrative officer of Option One Mortgage Corp., and managing director of GMAC/RFC. He also held executive posts at Freddie Mac, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. EMC can be found online at http://www.emcmortgagecorp.com.

Edward F. Lange Jr. has been promoted from chief financial officer of BRE Properties Inc., San Francisco, to executive vice president and chief operating officer.Mr. Lange, 47, has been CFO since 2000 and will continue in that post until a successor is named, the real estate investment trust said. He was previously CFO of Health Care REIT Inc. and a senior vice president at Mediplex Group Inc. and affiliated companies. BRE Properties, an apartment REIT, can be found on the Web at http://www.breproperties.com.

Ron Duff of Fiserv Lending Solutions has been elected to chair the Governance Committee of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, taking over from David Barkley of Freddie Mac, who has chaired the panel since its inception in 2000.Nancee Gorenstein of MGIC and Lisa Bolelli of First American Real Estate Information Services were elected vice-chairs. The committee also re-elected the following members: Chris Anderson of Gallagher Financial Systems; Jim Cooke of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll; David Erkes of GMAC Residential Holding Corp.; Roger Gudobba of VMP/Wolters Kluwer; Michael Levine of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage; Shannon Lloyd of Fannie Mae; Kelly Romeo of the American Land Title Association; and Wendy Sadeh of Bridger Commercial Funding. The Governance Committee consists of 20 MISMO subscriber organizations that serve two-year terms, with half the seats up for election each year. MISMO, which was established by the Mortgage Bankers Association, develops electronic commerce standards for the mortgage industry. The organization can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.

Fannie Mae president and chief executive officer Daniel Mudd received a 27.5% increase in take-home pay and bonuses in 2006 largely due to a $3.5 million bonus.Mr. Mudd received a $950,000 salary last year along with the bonus. The company's board of directors also awarded Mr. Mudd 176,506 shares of restricted common stock. He currently holds 492,206 restricted shares, according to a Jan. 25 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In 2005, the Fannie Mae president and CEO received a $908,121 salary and a $2.6 million bonus. The board also increased his 2007 salary by $40,000, to $990,000. The government-sponsored enterprise can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.

A senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., is expected to be the new housing subcommittee chairman, according to sources, although it has not been officially announced.The housing subcommittee has jurisdiction over the housing government-sponsored enterprises, and the New York senator has fiercely opposed Bush administration efforts to substantially cut the size of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolios. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., was the ranking Democrat on the housing subcommittee last year, but he is going to chair the securities and investment subcommittee. Sen. Reed is the author of a proposal that would require Fannie and Freddie to contribute 5% of their profits toward an affordable housing fund.

John Fisk has been appointed chief operating officer of the Office of Finance, the debt issuance facility of the Federal Home Loan Banks.Mr. Fisk was previously deputy managing director of the Office of Finance, overseeing debt issuance, servicing, and strategic planning. Before joining the Office of Finance, he was executive vice-president of strategic planning at Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. He previously held a series of capital market and mortgage positions over 17 years at Freddie Mac, the Office of Finance reported. By the time of his departure in 2000, Mr. Fisk was executive vice-president, responsible for all single-family mortgage business. The Office of Finance can be found online at http://www.fhlb-of.com.

Raymond R. Christman will retire on Jan. 31 as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, according to the FHLBank.Mr. Christman oversaw the bank during a period in which it grew from $50 billion to $144 billion in assets and increased its affordable housing program grants, the FHLBank said. The bank said its board of directors has named William Ott as interim president and CEO. Mr. Ott is president of PEAC Ventures Inc., a firm that advises corporate boards and executives. He previously held senior positions at First Data Corp. and Bank of America. The FHLBank can be found on the Web at http://www.fhlbatl.com.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has announced that its president, Harry Dinham, will serve on Fannie Mae's National Housing Advisory Council.The NHAC, consisting of 46 members from the housing, mortgage finance, and government sectors, meets with Fannie Mae's senior management three times a year to help the company "address industry challenges and maximize market opportunities," the association said. Council members serve two-year terms, with approximately half of the membership rotating off at the end of each year. "Serving on the council gives me the opportunity to further advance the cause of both mortgage brokers and homeowners on a national scale," said Mr. Dinham. NAMB can be found on the Web at http://www.namb.org.

Troy Gotschall has resigned as executive vice president and chief production officer of ECC Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Irvine, Calif., as a result of the company's decision to exit the mortgage origination business.The mortgage REIT noted that the decision was to exit the origination business after the consummation of a proposed transaction with Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage Corp. Mr. Gotschall will serve as a consultant to ECC to assist in the transition of his responsibilities, the company said. The REIT can be found online at http://www.encorecredit.com.

Scott C. Harvard, president and chief executive officer of Shore Bank, has been elected chairman of the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.Mr. Harvard, who is serving his second three-year term on the board, was originally elected by member financial institutions in Virginia. He has served as president and CEO of Shore Bank and its holding company, Shore Financial Corp., Onley, Va., since 1985, the FHLBank said. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta provides services to financial institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The FHLBank can be found on the Web at http://www.fhlbatl.com, and Shore Bank can be found at http://www.shorebank.com.

Ron Wilsie has been named chief operating officer of Preferred Financial Group Inc., a private mortgage lender based in Burlingame, Calif., and Gary Plooster has been named chief production officer.Mr. Wilsie was most recently president of WestWorks Mortgage in Southern California, which was formed in 1997 as a division of Western Financial Savings Bank, Preferred Financial said. Mr. Plooster was previously executive vice president for national wholesale production and operations at United Financial Mortgage Corp. Preferred Financial said it plans to expends its wholesale mortgage franchise into new geographic markets this year by adding production offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and Oregon. It can be found on the Web at http://www.preferredmortgage.com.

David Lowman, Chase's chief executive officer of Global Mortgage, has been given additional responsibilities in the areas of home equity, servicing, and default that combine all the company's consumer real estate lending businesses into one organization.Before joining Chase in November, Mr. Lowman was president and CEO of CitiFinancial International. Chase said he was previously chief servicing and technology officer for Citigroup's U.S. mortgage business; president and chief operating officer of CitiMortgage; and chief financial officer (among other positions) of Prudential Home Mortgage. Chase can be found online at http://www.chase.com.

LoanCity, a national wholesale lender based in San Jose, Calif., has announced that John C. Giagiari Jr. and Jeff Minch have joined the company as chief operating officer and national sales manager, respectively.For the past 10 years, Mr. Giagiari was director of subprime lending at Meritage Mortgage, a division of Netbank. Before joining Meritage, he was responsible for wholesale lending in Northern California for First Franklin Financial. Mr. Minch, who will have the title of senior vice president as well as national sales manager, has been national sales manager at Meritage since 2004. He was previously Eastern regional sales manager for Meritage, held strategy and operational posts at First Franklin, and founded OneHarbor, a financial planning service for customers of financial institutions. LoanCity can be found online at http://www.loancity.com.

Kenneth M. Duberstein -- one of the few remaining directors from the "Raines era" at Fannie Mae -- will step down on Feb. 15, according to a federal filing by the company.Mr. Duberstein has been a Fannie Mae director since 1998. He is chairman and chief executive of The Duberstein Group Inc., an independent strategic planning and consulting firm. In years past, Mr. Duberstein's lobbying firm has done work for the company. Mr. Raines was forced out of Fannie in December 2004 as the government-sponsored enterprise's accounting scandal widened. The Raines-era directors -- including Mr. Duberstein -- are defendants in a shareholder lawsuit that accuses board members (and current and former executives) of profiting from the GSE's accounting manipulations "via huge bonuses, improper stock sales and/or a web of lucrative personal" and financial interrelationships. Fannie Mae can be found on the Web at http://www.fanniemae.com.

Michael Forster has been named to the newly created position of chief financial officer at NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit community development and training organization based in Washington, D.C.Mr. Forster, who brings over 20 years of experience in accounting and management, was most recently vice president of finance and administration at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. He was previously a consultant to the District of Columbia government. Ken Wade, chief executive officer of NeighborWorks, said the CFO post was created because community development "is growing increasingly complex, with participants ranging from very small nonprofit organizations to global financial institutions headquartered on Wall Street."