People

President Obama has nominated Richard Berner to become the first director of the Treasury Department's new Office of Financial Research.

Daniel Mudd, the former Fannie Mae CEO who is the subject of a new, massive SEC fraud suit, announced Wednesday morning that he is taking a leave of absence from his current employer, Fortress Investment Group, New York.

The partisan fight over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has snagged the nominations to head two other federal banking regulators.

Tom Palmer, a senior executive in the correspondent lending division of MetLife Home Loans, recently left the company, accepting a position with the privately held Freedom Mortgage Corp., Fishers, Ind., according to industry officials familiar with the matter.

Federal Home Loan Bank of New York president Alfred DelliBovi is joining a private commission whose mandate is to review the proper role of the federal government in the housing sector.

Senate Republicans plan to block the confirmation of Carol Galante to head the Federal Housing Administration until the Obama administration takes more forceful action to strengthen the government mortgage insurer - and issues a blueprint for dealing with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Umpqua Bank, Roseburg, Ore., is expanding its commercial real estate lending operations by upgrading its structure to be a division of the bank and promoting John Swanson to senior vice president and commercial real estate manager.

The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a vote Tuesday on Thomas Hoenig to become vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Prudential Mortgage Capital Co., Newark, N.J., has hired at least two multifamily loan officers for the Boston office it opened in October and plans to expand further throughout the nation, one senior executive of the company told National Mortgage News.

Berkadia Commercial Mortgage hired Clay Akiwenzie, who will be based in San Francisco.