CoreLogic CFO Piszel Resigns Amid SEC Inquiry of Tenure at Freddie

After receiving notice that he’s under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, CoreLogic Chief Financial Officer Anthony "Buddy" Piszel resigned late Thursday.

The SEC sent Piszel a Wells notice in connection with certain disclosure matters during his tenure as CFO of Freddie Mac from November 2006 to September 2008, CoreLogic said in a press statement.

Piszel will remain at CoreLogic in a non-executive capacity through June 1 “to assist in a smooth transition of his responsibilities,” CoreLogic said. As it searches for a replacement, Michael Rasic, CoreLogic’s senior vice president of finance and accounting will serve as principal financial officer of the company. In addition former Standard Pacific Corp. CFO Andrew Parnes was hired as a consultant to assist CoreLogic during the transition.

CoreLogic added the inquiry only relates to the time prior to Piszel’s tenure as CFO and Treasurer of the First American Corp., and later CoreLogic after it was spun off into its own publicly traded company in June 2010.

The news comes after the abrupt resignation of Freddie Mac’s chief operating officer Bruce Witherell, announced in a SEC filing on Feb. 9. Also, in November Fannie Mae announced the resignation of its then-CFO David Johnson, which took effect at the end of 2010.

The inquiry relates to a period that predates Piszel's employment with CoreLogic and is not directed at the company or any other CoreLogic employees, CoreLogic said. The SEC and Freddie Mac both declined to comment. A woman who answered Piszel’s phone at CoreLogic’s Santa Ana, Calif. office said he was not in the office Friday. Attempts to reach Piszel at his home were unsuccessful.

In January, the Orange County Business Journal and the Orange County/Long Beach chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants presented Piszel with a lifetime achievement award at their CFO of the Year awards. Speaking to the paper, Piszel said his less than two years at Freddie Mac came after the mortgage giant was already facing extreme financial pressure. “It was a tough situation,” Piszel said.

The SEC can issue a Wells notice when it intends to recommend civil enforcement action against an individual or firm. CoreLogic said Piszel will argue against the pending action with what’s known as a Wells submission.

"While we appreciate Buddy's contributions during his tenure at CoreLogic, after careful consideration of these developments, our Board of Directors, Buddy and I decided it would be in the best interest of the company for Buddy to leave CoreLogic to focus on his response to these issues," said Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive officer, in the CoreLogic statement.

CoreLogic provides consumer, financial and property information, analytics and services. It will announce fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 24.