Career moves

E. Ashley Smith has been named executive vice president, general counsel, and chief legal officer of Stewart Information Services Corp., Houston, and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Stewart Title Guaranty Co. and Stewart Title Co.Mr. Smith was most recently vice chancellor for governmental relations and policy for the University of Texas System, Stewart said. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for 14 years. Stewart can be found online at http://www.stewart.com.

Rob Katz has been named executive vice president of sales and marketing at Del Mar Database, a San Diego-based Fiserv subsidiary that specializes in providing technology to small and medium-size lenders.Before joining Del Mar in 2001, Mr. Katz was chief information officer at Monument Mortgage. Del Mar also announced the promotion of Rob Pommier to the position of vice president of national sales. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.delmardb.com.

ECC Capital Corp., Irvine, Calif., says its executive vice president and chief operating officer Steven Szpytek has resigned to take a production job at a subsidiary.Mr. Szpytek will be based in Downers Grove, Ill., and will serve as director of production in the Midwest for Encore Credit Corp. The nonconforming wholesale lender is also losing its spokesman, Rob Asghar, who is departing to take a position at the University of Southern California. Recently, ECC/Encore, a real estate investment trust, trimmed 440 full-timers, or 27% of its work force.

Jeffrey Johnson has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Franklin Credit Management Corp., a New York-based finance company specializing in residential mortgage loans, according to Franklin Credit.Mr. Johnson, who also resigned from the company's board of directors, left to pursue other business interests, the company reported. Thomas Axon, the chairman and founder of the company, has been appointed president and CEO. Mr. Axon has been chairman since 1994 and was president and CEO from December 1994 through June 2000. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.franklincredit.com.

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, has agreed to step aside temporarily as chairman of the House Administration Committee because of allegations about his links to a lobbying scandal, but he will continue to chair a housing subcommittee."He plans to continue to chair the [House Financial Services] housing subcommittee," a Ney spokesman said. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., urged the Ohio congressman to step down as chairman of the Administration Committee because of his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials, including Rep. Ney. Rep. Ney has denied any wrongdoing and maintains that he will be vindicated when the investigations are completed. But the Speaker's spokesman, Ron Bonjean, said it would be a "big problem" having Rep. Ney lead the Administration Committee, which is expected to take up lobbying reforms early this year. "There are people that have pled guilty who have conspired to bribe him," Mr. Bonjean said. Rep. Ney announced his decision to relinquish the Administration Committee post after chairing housing subcommittee hearings Jan. 13-14 in New Orleans and Gulfport, Miss, on housing problems related to Hurricane Katrina.

Ronald D. Rice has been named director of operations at Houston-based Stewart Default Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Mortgage Information.Mr. Rice will report to SDS president C. Alan Paylor. He was most recently chief operating officer of the Houston office of Barrett Burke Wilson Castle Daffin and Frappier LLP, where he was a leader of the firm's Houston bankruptcy division. Mr. Rice previously served as vice president of loan administration for Bank United, focusing on default management, real estate owned, and outsourcing relationships. He was also vice president of loan servicing at Mellon Mortgage, and senior vice president and servicing manager at North American Mortgage Co. SDS can be found online at http://www.stewartdefaultsolutions.com.

Samuel D. Marsico has been named senior vice president and chief risk officer of Genworth Financial Inc., a Richmond, Va.-based holding company that provides mortgage insurance and other insurance products.Mr. Marsico was most recently CRO of the company's mortgage insurance business, where he helped support its international expansion, Genworth said. He replaces Mark W. Griffin, who became the company's chief investment officer in October. Before joining Genworth in 1997, Mr. Marsico held various posts in auditing and finance with Price Waterhouse and General Electric Co. Genworth can be found online at http://www.genworth.com.

Thomas M. Goldstein, chairman and chief executive officer of ABN Amro Mortgage Group Inc., has been elected to a three-year term on the board of the Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank.He was elected by the Illinois member financial institutions of the FHLBank. Mr. Goldstein is also senior executive vice president of LaSalle Bank Corp., the parent company of ABN Amro Mortgage, the FHLBank reported. He has served on the Chicago FHLBank board since April 2005, when he was appointed by the board to assume the term of Scott Heitmann, who retired from the board and from his position as vice chairman of LaSalle Bank Corp. The Chicago FHLBank can be found online at http://www.fhlbc.com.

Ron Kessinger, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Triad Guaranty Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C., has been named senior EVP and assistant to the mortgage insurer's president and chief executive officer, Mark Tonnesen.Triad said Mr. Kessinger "will reduce his day-to-day involvement with the company but continue to work on strategic matters" during a transition period of unspecified duration, adding that he plans to retire following the transition period. The appointment is effective Jan. 16. The company said it does not plan to fill the COO position. "Mr. Tonnesen will assume direct responsibility for the operations of the company and its subsidiaries, including Triad Guaranty Insurance Corp.," Triad said. The company can be found online at http://www.triadguaranty.com.

The National Housing Conference has announced that Jeffrey Lubell is the new executive director of its research arm, the Center for Housing Policy.An expert in housing and community development, Mr. Lubell previously worked at the Department of the Housing and Urban Development as the director for policy development. "You are going to see a much stronger and more robust Center for Housing Policy under director Jeff Lubell," NHC president Conrad Egan said. After Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Lubell authored a discussion paper for NHC advocating the use of a land bank to help New Orleans rebuild its housing stock, which was devastated by flooding. Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., incorporated a similar concept into his Louisiana Recovery Act bill (H.R. 4100), which is pending in Congress. "We were pleased to see the Baker bill passed the House Financial Services Committee," Mr. Egan said. NHC, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, will continue to push for its enactment, he added.

Stephen M. Bessette has been named executive vice president of consumer lending (including mortgages) at the Washington Trust Co., Westerly, R.I.Mr. Bessette joined the company in 1997. He was previously president of New England Pacific Mortgage Co., Warwick, R.I., and president of Old Stone Mortgage Co., Seattle. Washington Trust can be found on the Web at http://www.washtrust.com.

AMCO, a Cleveland-based valuation management company, has announced the addition of Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., former chairman of the Republican Party, to its advisory board.Mr. Fahrenkopf said he believes in "market-driven solutions" to problems related to noncompliant and inaccurate valuations in the mortgage industry. "AMCO's total independence, single-focused approach to the valuation industry, and unique proprietary solutions are exactly what the mortgage lending industry needs, before government is forced to enact more onerous regulation," he said. Mr. Fahrenkopf joins a board already consisting of two former secretaries of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Andrew M. Cuomo and Jack F. Kemp, and William C. Apgar, a former commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration who is now senior scholar at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

J. Gregory Harrington has been named president of First American International Services Group, a new division of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., that will provide offshore services to the mortgage industry.Mr. Harrington was most recently senior vice president of strategic product development at the parent company. He was previously employed for 13 years at J.P. Morgan Chase, rising to the position of senior vice president of mortgage operations, First American said. First American can be found on the Web at http://www.firstam.com.

R&G Financial Corp., San Juan, Puerto Rico, has announced the resignation of Ramon Prats as vice chairman and president, and as president of subsidiaries R-G Mortgage Corp. and R-G Premier Bank, in connection with an investigation by the company's audit committee.The probe relates to R&G Financial's need to restate its consolidated financial statements for 2002, 2003, and 2004. Mr. Prats will continue as an employee to facilitate the handover of his management responsibilities, the parent company said. Steven Velez, executive vice president of R-G Mortgage, has been named to replace Mr. Prats as president of R-G Mortgage, and Victor Galan Jr. has been promoted from senior vice president to EVP to replace Mr. Velez, R&G Financial reported. The company also announced the resignation of Mario Ruiz, who was EVP of Premier Bank and held various other posts, and the termination of Joseph R. Sandoval as EVP and chief financial officer of R&G Financial. R&G Financial can be found online at http://www.rgonline.com.

Drew Fung has been named head of U.S. high-yield debt investments at RREEF, the New York-based real estate arm of Deutsche Asset Management, Deutsche Bank's global investment management business.Mr. Fung most recently oversaw subordinate debt production at CWCapital, and before that he was employed by Lend Lease. RREEF said the firm's high-yield debt investment team will specialize in a wide variety of structured investment options, such as mezzanine, B-notes, preferred equity, and bridge loans. RREEF also announced that Thanh Bui has joined the team as a vice president, reporting to Mr. Fung. She will help lead production efforts for the group. Deutsche Bank can be found online at http://www.db.com.

David A. Pazgan has been named president and chief executive officer of NovaStar Mortgage Inc., the primary loan origination unit of residential mortgage lender NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo.Mr. Pazgan was most recently executive vice president of NovaStar, overseeing its wholesale division, and was previously senior vice president of wholesale-East, a regional vice president, and an account executive for FHB Funding, a wholesale subprime originator. He succeeds Lance Anderson, who will become chairman of NovaStar Mortgage and continue as president and chief operating officer of NovaStar Financial, the company reported. NovaStar Mortgage can be found online at http://www.novastarmortgage.com.

Thomas A. Klemens, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., died Jan. 3 of blood cancer, the company has reported.Mr. Klemens, 55, joined First American in 1985 as vice president and controller, was named principal accounting officer of the parent company and of First American Title Insurance Co. in 1992, and became vice president and CFO in 1993. He was named executive vice president of First American in 1996 and senior EVP in 2002. Parker S. Kennedy, First American's chairman and chief executive officer, called Mr. Klemens a "wonderful friend" who had "fought a long and hard battle against multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, for two years." Mr. Kennedy attributed First American's growth into a global, Fortune 500 company "in large part" to Mr. Klemens. The company can be found online at http://www.firstam.com.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines has announced that Patrick Conway, the president and chief executive officer of the troubled bank, has stepped down and will retire from the bank.Board member Neil Fruechte will serve as acting president and CEO until a replacement is found. "Mr. Conway and the board reached a mutual agreement," FHLBank spokeswoman Nicky Schissel said of the management change. The FHLBank, which is the second-largest investor in Mortgage Partnership Finance loans, is in the midst of restating its earnings for 2001 through 2004 because it misapplied derivative accounting rules for hedging fixed-rate mortgages. Last summer, federal examiners raised concerns about the bank's operations and internal controls, which prompted the board to set up a review committee. Mr. Conway worked at the FHLBank of San Francisco before he joined the Des Moines bank as its president in 1999.

Edwina P. Carrington will join Reznick Group, a tax and accounting advisory firm based in Bethesda, Md., as a principal and a member of the firm's national affordable housing group on April 1.Ms. Carrington will help establish and lead Reznick's first Southwestern office in Austin, Texas, the firm said. She will serve clients as a real estate adviser, with a special focus on transaction consulting in the affordable housing industry. Ms. Carrington has been executive director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs since 2002, and she previously held leadership positions at the Texas Housing Finance Corp., the Austin Housing Finance Corp., and the Texas Housing Agency (the forerunner of the TDHCA). Reznick can be found online at http://www.reznickgroup.com.

Deutsche Bank has announced the expansion of its global commercial real estate business in the Asia-Pacific region with the hiring of Frank Forelle as managing director and head of CRE for the region.The bank also announced the appointments of Greg Wells as director and head of CRE in China and Tony Moussa as head of CRE in Australia, both of whom will report to Mr. Forelle. Mr. Forelle was most recently managing director and head of commercial mortgage-backed securities in North America at ABN Amro, and he was previously head of commercial mortgage sales and trading at Citicorp Securities Inc. "The Asia-Pacific region is generating some of the world's most interesting opportunities in commercial real estate, and we expect it to be a growth engine for years to come," said Jon Vaccaro, the bank's global head of CRE. The bank can be found online at http://www.db.com.