Veterans Affairs mortgage executive John Bell III departs

John Bell III, executive director of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Loan Guaranty Service, has left his role. 

The longtime mortgage professional and U.S. Navy veteran had been the executive at LGY since 2022, and spent 15 years at the VA, according to his biography. In a Linkedin post late Sunday night, he announced his final day at LGY, but did not say if he was resigning, retiring or moving on to another role. 

"After three decades dedicated to mortgage finance, spanning roles in the private sector and VA Housing, today marks my final day at LGY," his post read. "… It has been an honor leading the exceptional team at LGY, and I am grateful for the chance to contribute to such meaningful work."

A spokesperson for the VA Tuesday evening said Bell is now the deputy executive director of the Veteran Benefits Administration's Office of Mission Support.

The office also confirmed Patrick Zondervan was appointed to replace Bell August 11. According to his Linkedin profile, Zondervan was previously the executive director of the VA's Little Rock regional office, and has been with the department for nearly 25 years.

His profile states he was a business owner of PSH Real Estate Investments in Alpharetta, Georgia, but it's unclear if he has prior mortgage industry experience.

Bell's weekend announcement included a list of accomplishments at the VA, including creating efficiencies in loan processing and assisting nearly 150,000 veterans in avoiding foreclosure in the past year alone. Bell also noted the VA mortgage market share rose from under 1% to 14% today. 

Industry veterans including former leaders of government housing agencies congratulated Bell on social media. Bell's email address was disabled Monday morning, and the VA didn't return an immediate request for comment. 

According to his biography and LinkedIn, Bell began his career in mortgage finance in college in Tennessee, and held posts at various lenders. Prior to the VA, he spent seven years at Bank of America where he oversaw the company's VA loan portfolio. 

The LGY leader led the VA's home loan arm through many changes, including most recently the passage of a foreclosure prevention bill to replace a post-pandemic program. The VA with the previous iteration purchased over 17,000 loans worth over $5 billion in a 12-month span.

Under Bell's leadership the VA modernized its technology, allowing lenders to directly submit mortgages from a loan origination system to the VA, and adding a new digital portal for lenders to track maintenance tasks. The VA in 2023 also changed its oversight policies to address appraisal bias.

According to Bell's post, the VA also trimmed average days to close from 60 days to 30, and cut eligibility determinations from 22 business days to a single day. The VA portfolio also grew to $1.5 trillion, he said. 

The Trump administration caused some consternation at the VA earlier this year, as the Department of Government Efficiency claimed to terminate four contracts totaling $59 million related to LGY operations. In a March hearing, Bell could not explain to lawmakers how DOGE had impacted LGY.

A VA spokesperson in response to an inquiry said there were no DOGE actions that affected LGY staff levels.