Lehman Hires First Franklin Exec to Run BNC

Lehman Brothers has hired First Franklin Financial Corp. executive Steve Skolnik to run its BNC Mortgage affiliate, MortgageWire has learned.A spokesman for Lehman Brothers confirmed the news, which was first reported by National Mortgage News. The spokesman also said BNC's current chief executive officer, Kelly Monahan, will remain with the company but "will have other duties" at Lehman. A spokesman for National City Corp., Cleveland, which owns First Franklin, confirmed that Mr. Skolnik has left the subprime lender. The San Jose, Calif.-based First Franklin is being sold to Merrill Lynch & Co. BNC is headquartered in Irvine, Calif.